


Smitten Kitten

by NotEvenCloseToStraight



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Rhodey, Blowjobs, Cat Tony Stark, Come Marking, Come Swallowing, Elevator Sex, Everybody loves Tony, Explicit Sexual Content, Fingering, Fluff, Fluff and Smut and Feels, Jealousy, Light Angst, Lion Steve Rogers, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, NSFW, Possessive Behavior, Protective Natasha, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Boyfriend, Smut, Stony - Freeform, Stucky - Freeform, Threesomes, Tony is High Maintenance, Tony is Smol, Wolf Bucky Barnes, limo sex, partial shifting, shifter fic, stuckony - Freeform, winteriron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 09:16:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11124243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotEvenCloseToStraight/pseuds/NotEvenCloseToStraight
Summary: Everyone in the Avengers Tower is over protective of Tony. The genius is way too reckless, and they are constantly checking on him after every battle, doting on him and spoiling him.Tony is their favorite, Tony is their family. Everybody Loves Tony.Lion!Shifter Steve and Wolf!Shifter Bucky are more than overprotective-they are downright possessive and are trying to find ways to move their relationship from "teammates" to "mates".Tony is half in love with both of them already, unable to keep from drooling over them, but still uneasy about sharing his shifted self with him. Especially when the giant super soldiers squeal and scream and try to carry him around when they see all eight pounds of spiky black haired kitty that is Tony fully shifted.Tony is furious that no one takes his shifted form seriously, but the attention and snuggles and compliments sure are nice.So MAYBE he will put up with being called a pretty kitty. And MAYBE hes willing to endure being spoiled and courted by both the Alpha shifters.Because at the end of the day, Tony is just a Smitten Kitten with two mates who will do anything for him.And thats just purrrrrr-fect.Now with Bonus 2000 word epilogue!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
> Just so no one is icked out--- no fully-shifted sex in this. At the very most, partial shifted sex so they can play with Tonys tail and ears ;)  
> Enjoy this! Its just smutty and fluffy and a dab of angst to keep things interesting.  
> Hope you guys like it :)

The elevator to the common area of the Tower pinged open and the team poured out, all in varying levels of injured, all several steps past pissed off.

“That should have been easy! Instead it was a clusterfuck!!” Natasha fumed, the smoke pouring from her mouth with the words making everyone else uneasy. “What the  _hell_ went wrong?”

“Hey honey, why don't you shift back all the way so you don't accidentally light my couch on fire like you did last week, hm?” Tony called from his position in Steve's arms, cradled close to the big blonds chest. “I know it's an ugly couch but it was just shockingly expensive and no amount of Scotch-guard protects from burns.”

“Tony, just be quiet and let us check you over.” Bucky interjected, and sent a steely eyed glare at Natasha. “Shift  _down_ , dragon lady, before you singe something. Steve, put him on the couch.”

Steve set Tony down carefully, tucking a pillow behind his head, and then bent over and ripped Tony's under armor right down the middle, tossing the shredded pieces aside so they could see the mess of bruises and scrapes down his abdomen.

“Steve!” Tony yelped. “Easy on the clothing!”

“ _Damn_ _it_ , Tony.” Clint flew in through the window, still partial shifted in his hawk form, tucking his giant wings behind him. “Stop yelling about your shirt. We  _told_ you to stay back and away from the fight. You could have seriously gotten hurt!”

“Oh yeah.” Tony rolled his eyes and tried to sit up, grimacing when everything pulled. “Tell the man in the suit and with all weapons to stay back and let the _animals_ handle it. That sounds like a great idea.”

“Yeah well, if you would have listened you wouldn't be all banged up, would you?” Clint pointed out, shifting back into his human form, the wings and golden eyes disappearing. “Tasha,  _shift down_ baby, you're smoking up the room.”

He grabbed a blanket for her, and Natasha took a deep breath as she began shifting, the scales on her body rippling and shimmering before disappearing, long claws retracting and horns fading back into her hair.

Within a minute she stood at her usual five-two, green eyes and red hair. It was a far cry from her dragon, and everybody relaxed once she was wrapped in a blanket and headed to the kitchen to make coffee.

“Anything broken?” Steve asked and Bucky felt over Tony's ribs gingerly, mindful of the bruising and cuts, his fingers probing gently, blue eyes worried when Tony flinched away from even the light touch.

“Nothing cracked, just some hard bruising. Damn it, Tony what the hell were you  _thinking_?” His voice dropped into a growl, his Wolf still close to the surface after the battle and Tony swallowed hard, pushing back the jolt of  _want_ at the sound.

“I didn't want you guys to get hurt.” he said timidly. “So I stepped in.”

“We were fine, Tony.” Wanda finally appeared from the elevator, leaning heavily on Vision. “Even though, perhaps these boys--” her deeply accented voice sharpened as she glared at Bucky and Steve. “--should be grateful we have you looking out for us, instead of yelling at you while you are  _hurt_.”

“Yeah see?” Tony closed his eyes against a fresh wave of pain. “Listen to snake lady. She knows I was right. How are you by the way, Wanda? You took a pretty hard hit.”

“Better now.” She touched her leg carefully, where a ricocheting bullet had plowed into and right through her body while she had been shifted. As her Constrictor, she was such a hard target to hit that it was always surprising when she got hurt at all, and by the look on her pale face she was  _definitely_ feeling it.

“Shift back into your snake.” Bucky instructed. “You will heal faster as your Constrictor, yeah?”

Everyone in the room exchanged an amused glance over the command, knowing it was less about Bucky telling Wanda what to do, and more about him genuinely being concerned that she was alright.

As more and more of his Winter Soldier conditioning left him, Bucky had changed from sullen, quiet and _dangerous_ into a sweet, kind hearted man, who always was looking out for everyone else. Being a Wolf shifter meant his protective instincts ran deep and he had no problem bullying his way into a situation just to take care of whoever was being picked on or was hurt.

During a battle, he was nothing less than a killer, both in his shifted Wolf and in human form, but post battle? Basically a giant marshmallow.

Steve loved it, loved seeing so much of his best friend back after thinking he had lost the old Bucky forever. Natasha tended to roll her eyes over it, while Clint was just relieved that someone else on the team besides him fussed when they got hurt. Tony ignored everything Bucky said, even when Steve was agreeing just as loudly, and Vision and Wanda took it all in stride.

Right now, Wanda let her eyes soften and warm in his direction. “Thank you for your concern, Bucky. But I wanted to check on Tony before I went to bed. Make sure he was alright.”

“I'm fine.” Tony waved her off. “You guys get out of here. Vision, take her and let her shift again, help her though so she doesn't sprain anything. Clint, you take the resident dragon and get some sleep. Steve and Bucky, go wrestle or something, get rid of all that post- battle energy. I'm going to sit here and whimper over my probably broken ribs. Alright? Everyone good?”

They all mumbled in agreement, and started leaving, always ready to listen to Tony since he spent so much time taking care of them. Tasha and Wanda bent to kiss his forehead as they passed, Clint ruffled his fingers through Tony's hair affectionately, and Tony preened under the attention.

He loved his team. His family.

 _An annoyed growl brought his attention back to moment at hand, and_ Tony fixed Steve and Bucky with a glare, huffing angrily.

“Bucky, if your Wolf growls at me one more time I'm gonna slap a muzzle on it, so  _stop._ And Steve, I know you think you're _purring_ comfortingly, but that noise is also  _just a growl._ Lions don't purr, so either dial it back, or shift completely because I'm getting weirded out. You both need to leave me alone. Go back to your room and leave me in peace. Your hovering and mothering me and it's  _pissing me off._ ”

“Not leaving you Tony.” Steve bent and picked him back up, and Tony tried his damnedest not to be  _thrilled_ at the show of strength as they headed for the elevator that would take them to Tony's penthouse. “Just gonna put you in bed, alright? Need to make sure you're alright.”

“Stop babying me!” Tony demanded. “Just because I don't shift into a big scary animal doesn't mean that you get to treat me like I'm a child!”

Steve ignored him, as did Bucky, who had a hand to his forehead checking his temperature, another hand resting carefully over his hurt ribs.

Tony just sighed in frustration and closed his eyes again.

If he were telling the truth, he'd admit that the over protectiveness from the two soldiers actually made him happy as  _fuck_.

Steve was all things beautiful, and Bucky was gorgeous in such a wild way it made Tony _ache,_ and  _if_ he were telling the truth, he'd admit that every time either of them touched him his  _whole body_ hummed. Anytime either one of them smiled he just wanted to melt.  _If_ he were telling the truth, he'd admit that he wanted  _both_ in his bed all the time.

But he definitely wasn't admitting to any of that while he was this annoyed.

He wasn't annoyed that they cared about him. That wasn't it at all.

The problem was, they were so protective and possessive of him both in human and shifter form, that it was starting to interfere with his life, both on and off the field.

Both the super soldiers were considered Alpha Level Shifters, which meant they were lethal as a human, and even more lethal as an animal.

Steve's Lion stood a shocking five and a half feet at the _shoulder,_ and Bucky's silver Wolf stood just a few inches shorter. A roar from Steve could burst an ear drum if a person were too close, and once Bucky had thrown his head back and howled and every dog within a three mile radius had turned tail and bolted. They were unparalleled on the battlefield-- two super soldiers who could tear someone apart with their bare hands, two Alpha Level Shifters that could kill you with a paw.

They were intimidating and wild and gorgeous, and every time Tony saw them shifted he wanted to make grabby hands and roll over and--

\--Well anyway.

Unfortunately along with all that power and strength and beauty, came an Alpha sized dose of hormones and aggressiveness and _instinct_ to protect what was  _theirs_.

And both the shifters were positive that Tony was  _theirs._

When Bucky had come to the Tower a year ago, he had decided instantly that Tony needed the most protection and had set himself to provide that protection. And since Tony was Steve's family, that meant he was also _pack,_ which meant Bucky would happily kill for him in a heartbeat.

Steve had come out of the ice, taken one look at the man who scented like Howard, scented like a _friend_ , and promptly decided that Tony was due the same amount of devotion he had given Howard, and more because he hadn't ever wanted Howard the way he wanted Tony.

It had been a loud conversation between the two Alpha Shifters once Steve had realized that Bucky had put a pack claim on Tony, and it had lasted all of three minutes-- Tony was theirs, and they weren't letting him out of their sight.

So now Tony was followed by two giant soldiers most hours of the day, whether he was eating breakfast and Steve was sitting next to him, or going through a meeting and Bucky was watching from the corner.

On the battlefields, Steve's Lion was never away from him, and when the Lion was busy, Bucky's massive Wolf was standing guard. Tony had literally been snatched out of the air more than once, batted down by a giant paw when he had ignored Steve's orders and tried to fly into a skirmish.

It was over bearing, and more than a little annoying but it was also sort of... sweet. And Tony understood enough of the Alpha Shifter's biology to know that most of the time, they couldn't help it.

The rest of the team took the overt protectiveness and possessiveness in stride. They all had a great deal of affection for Tony as well, even if it wasn't to the level of the two Alpha's. And after a few near misses, with Bucky or Steve partial shifting and snarling, they had learned which things would trigger the pair and which actions to avoid.

Of course, the first time Steve slid into his partial shift and roared at Natasha for upsetting Tony, the tiny redhead had burst into her partial dragon and burnt every hair off of Steve's mane for daring to try and intimidate _her_.

Steve didn't shift for weeks after that, and every time he walked in a room, Natasha blew a smoke ring at him with a satisfied grin.

For the most part, it was fine. Tony put up with the over-the-top behavior with a patient smile, and since the rest of the team were lower level shifters, Bucky and Steve didn't feel as if they had too much competiton.

Clint and Wanda were Beta level shifters--still not to be trifled with, but not considered to be the same level of _danger_ attributed to Steve and Bucky. Clint's Hawk had a wingspan of nearly twenty feet, and Wanda's Constrictor pushed thirty when she stretched out from end to end.

Natasha had yet to be classified, since no one had seen her fully shift. A full dragon would _absolutely_ be an Alpha Level Shifter, but since she never fully shifted by choice, and no one was willing to antagonize her to that point, her classification remained a mystery.

Not that she needed an official classification to be dangerous, of course. Alpha level or not, Natasha would burst into a fire breathing, scale covered partial shift if someone so much as _looked_ at her, or anyone she loved wrong.

She was not a Shifter to be taken lightly, and yet anytime Tony even smiled at her, she was nearly melting, just like Clint did, just like Wanda and Vision did, just like Steve and Bucky.

It was a tough job, being the center of attention of the group of Avengers, but Tony was happy to do it. They looked out for him, spoiled him, protected him, and Tony enjoyed every minute of it.

Well, almost every minute of it.

Steve and Bucky were getting worse with him as time went on, and Tony didn't know if he could handle much more before having to put his foot down.

 He wasn't even really sure what _their_ whole deal was.

Bucky had moved into Steve's room a year ago and had never left, even though there were no signs of intimacy beyond that. In fact, Steve had politely requested a second bed be added to his room shortly after Bucky had arrived, which had shocked.... everyone.

Clint of course, had opened his mouth made a crack about dogs just sleeping on the floor, and Bucky had shifted and pinned Clint down on the floor with his teeth bared before anyone even realized what had happened.

 It had taken Steve in full Lion form and Natasha partial shifted into her dragon to pull the Wolf away, and now Clint watched what he said  _very_ carefully.

Tony had had to excuse himself from the room shortly after that because… well.  _Wow_ to that display of dominance, and  _wow_ to Steve's beautiful Lion  _roaring_ in the living room and just  _wow_ to all of it.

 Sure,  _if_ Tony were telling the truth, he was more than infatuated with the Lion  _and_ the Wolf, and pushing head over heels in love with their human counterparts.

 But God help him, if they didn't chill out soon, he would chain he would their Alpha Shifter swaggering, super serum jacked selves to a dog house on the lawn and make them sleep in the rain.

*****************

*****************

Tony pulled himself out of his thoughts and back to the moment when the elevator doors opened into his penthouse. He hissed in pain as Steve lay him out on his big bed, and smacked at Bucky as the Wolf shifter started grabbing pillows to arrange around him.

“I am fine!” he insisted. “Just get out and let me sleep!”

“Alright, Tony.” Steve brushed a curl off his forehead in a tender gesture that made him want to bat his eyelashes and fucking  _swoon_. “We'll leave, but first I want you to shift, it will help you heal faster. We'll give you some privacy.”

“Don't want to shift.” Tony grumbled. “Just want to sleep.”

Bucky's blue eyes narrowed. “Tony, it doesn't matter. You _need_ to shift so you can heal. There might be injuries we can't see while you're human, and you know we aren't we aren't going anywhere until we know you are safe, so just get to it.”

“No.” Tony insisted, and both of the Alpha hifters bared their teeth and snarled. “ _Dammit_ you guys!” He twitched uncomfortably. “I don't want to shift! Leave me alone!”

It really didn't have anything to do with the soldiers, Tony just didn't like shifting in front of _anyone_.

In fact, no one besides Pepper and Rhodes had ever seen his shifted form at all, and not very often at that. Some people didn't care who saw them shifted, but for him it was… _personal_. To share yourself in animal form-- when it was all instinct and emotions and no real rational thought-- that  _terrified_ him.

Plus, he was fairly intimidated by the big shifters in front of him, and knew that once they saw his animal form, they would do one of two things-- laugh and walk away, or never want to leave him alone again because then they would REALLY be convinced he was helpless.

And honestly, he wasn't sure which one would be worse.

“I'm not shifting!” he announced, folding his arms. “So you might as well leave now.”

“ _Shift_ , Tony.” Bucky demanded. “We will leave, give you a few minutes, then come back in to check on you.”

“Please, Tony.” Steve added, softer. “We just need to make sure you're alright. Please.”

Tony glared up into two pairs of pleading eyes, and sighed in defeat. He knew they couldn't help it, that they couldn't do anything to control the instinct to take care of him, so maybe he would just shift and get it over with.

It had to happen eventually, right?

“Fine.” he grumbled. “But get out. I need five minutes and I don't want you in here.”

Bucky and Steve agreed quickly, and Tony waited until the men had left before groaning out loud and getting ready to shift.

He stripped the rest of his clothes and sat cross legged in the middle of the bed. Closing his eyes, he focused on his breathing, centered himself into a state of calmness, and let himself shift.

It was an odd feeling, his bones morphing and sliding into position, the odd shiver that always accompanied his ears and tail appearing, and finally the feeling of freedom as his rational mind slipped away, replaced by pure _instinct_.

Tony always forgot how good this felt. Maybe he _did_ need to shift more often. 

 

*************************

Steve knocked on the door exactly five minutes later and together, he and Buck re-entered the room, unsure of what to expect.

They knew of course, that Tony was some sort of cat because he scented _feline_ , and no one except cats cared so much about how they looked and were so fussy about their clothes.

Tony was definitely a cat. But would he be a tiger? A leopard? A panther with all that dark hair? A bob cat since he he was short? Or maybe he would be--

“Good Christ.” Bucky's eyes flew open wide and he grabbed Steve's arm. “Are you-- Stevie-- _look_.”

“Is this a joke?” Steve asked, but already knew it wasn't. “Tony? Is that you?” The dark eyes narrowed in irritation were  _definitely_ Tony's, and Steve scrubbed a hand over his mouth in disbelief. “Are you _serious_?”

“You are the cutest thing I've ever seen.” Bucky actually dropped to his knees and Steve tried hard not to laugh. He had forgotten how much of a sucker his best friend was for little puppies and adorable kittens and the tiny black scrap of spiky fur with big eyes was definitely the most adorable kitten  _ever_.

“Tony.” Steve tried to say, but the word came out on a chuckle, and the cat arched his back and hissed in annoyance.

“Oh stop, you're making him angry.” Completely in  _ball of mush_ mode, Bucky made a coaxing motion with his fingers. “Here kitty kitty kitty,  _pretty_ kitty, such a sweet kitty, come here puss puss puss.”

Tony's claws shot out and he yowled furiously before throwing himself at the super soldier, intent on scratching those perfect blue eyes out, all of six pounds of unholy _rage_. 

"Oh  _look_ at him!” Steve gave in and knelt beside where Bucky was laughing and batting Tony's tiny paws away. “He's like a baby on a rampage! Too much anger for so much fluff!”

Hearing the soldier  _baby talk_ set Tony off with another screech of anger, and he redoubled his efforts to maim them, claws swiping and tail whipping around. 

 _“_ He is gonna kill us for this later!” Bucky said in between trying to scratch the furious cats ears. “I mean, really going to kill us, Stevie.”

“Worth it.” Steve countered. “Worth it. Now let me hold him.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Now guys.” Colonel Rhodes sat in front of them on the couch, his hands clasped loosely in his lap. “Tony would like to stress that making fun of him in his shifted form is completely unacceptable. He can't help that while _you_ , Steve, are a Lion, and _you_ , Bucky, are a Wolf, he is nothing quite as scary. Tony would also like to calmly emphasize that--”

“If either of you fuckers calls me a pretty kitty again I will end you!” Tony shouted from the doorway. “I swear to God I will _end_ you!”

“Tony would like to  _calmly emphasize_ \--” Rhodes repeated louder. “That calling him  _kitty_ is a very fast way to piss him off, please don't do that anymore. Showing you his shifted form was not something he had necessarily wanted to do, even though he has agreed that it  _was_ necessary to facilitate his healing. That being said, he is understandably nervous about showing it to you again, based off your reaction this time.”

The Colonel was speaking with all the tact and diplomacy of someone who had been explaining Tony's shenanigans to the press for years, and both the soldiers were having a hard time not laughing at the over serious tone which was the complete opposite from how worked up Tony was.

“Tony, is there something you would like to add to the conversation, or have I covered the basics?” Rhodes asked politely, and Tony just huffed and turned on his heel, slamming the door behind him.

“Yikes.” Bucky murmured. “Made him angry, didn't we?”

“Goddamn it, you two.” Rhodes dropped his head into his hands, all diplomacy gone now that Tony had left the room. “I cannot  _believe_ you reacted like that. Giant bastards that you are reduced to cooing and squealing over a damn cat!”

“We weren't squeal--” Steve started to protest and Rhodes sent him a _look_. “Alright. Maybe we were squealing.”

“I  _saw_ the video feed.” the Colonel stated. “Never in my life have I seen two soldiers go from _protective_ mode to _fangirling_ mode so quickly in my life.”

“Don't gotta call us fan girls.” Steve sulked. “And maybe we got a little ridiculous but come on. Have you _seen_ his animal form?”

“He is literally the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. And I used to bring home orphaned kitties  _all_ the time.” Bucky said matter-of-factly and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Excuse him. The  _Winter Soldier_ is completely helpless against kittens, fluffy dogs and babies. Terrifying, isn't he?”

“Fuck you, Steve.” Bucky said lightly. “So Colonel. You've seen his shift?”

“Yes.” The Colonel leaned back and folded his arms. “Tony used to shift for me all the time in MIT. Helped him relax after finals, helped  _me_ relax, and yes, it was pretty damn adorable every time. But lots of people shift into harmless forms, in fact  _most_ people are only Gamma level shifters. Harmless little animals. It's really just not that big of a deal.”

“Tony just hates being the only household animal on a team that involves a dragon, a hawk with a twenty foot wing span, a giant snake, a Wolf that is so big it's almost obscene, and of course the King of the Jungle.” He motioned to Steve. “Half this team is Alpha shifters, the other half Beta shifters only by a slim technicality. He's a  _Gamma_ shifter. You could sit on him and not know he was there. How do you think that makes him feel?”

“I don't understand why his animal didn't mutate once he became Iron Man.” Bucky interjected. “My wolf is almost twice as big as it was before the super serum. Steve couldn't shift at all before getting juiced up because his heart couldn't handle it, and now his Lion stands five and a half feet at the  _shoulder_ _._ Everyone knows the more powerful you are as a human, the bigger your animal is. That's why Tasha's dragon stands at six feet partial shifted. She's  _terrifying_ and her animal reflects it.”

“That's a good point.” Steve said with a frown. “With the arc reactor powering his body, Tony could go for _days_. And even now, without the reactor, he's  _Iron Man_. Easily the most powerful person on the team. Why hasn't his cat--” he tried to hide a smile.”--grown to a panther or something?”

“Actually, the whole problem is linked to the arc reactor.” Rhodes said slowly. “When he had it in his chest, he couldn't shift at all. His actual  _physical_ heart was too weak, plus shifting with an artificial limb is next to impossible. Bucky, I am constantly amazed that you can shift as well and as quickly as you do.”

Bucky rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. He hated his left arm, and the only reason he didn't throw the damn thing out is because he wouldn't be able to shift into his wolf at all with only three limbs. He didn't want to have to thank HYDRA for _anything_ \-- but they had made sure he could shift with the arm on, and he was grateful for it.

“Anyway.” Rhodes continued. “Tony spent  _years_ unable to change, years stuck in human form, having to heal at normal speed, never being able to fully relax, never really being able to enjoy the shifter side of him.”

Steve frowned. He had gone so many years without the ability to shift that now he  _loved_ it. He couldn't imagine being able to shift and having that taken away during some of the most stressful times of his life. “Poor Tony.” He murmured. “I never thought about that.”

“But now, even without the arc reactor, and maybe  _especially_ without the arc reactor, his heart is weak.” the Colonel explained. “His animal can't morph into something mighty just because Tony _thinks_ he's indestructible. Our animals are basically linked to our strength of will, but our bodies can only take so much, and Tony's can't hardly take anything at all.”

“So, he's stuck in this tiny cat form? Never gonna be anything else? Never gonna be anything bigger?”

“No, he's stuck like this.” Rhodes sighed. “It makes him crazy. Also, for whatever reason, it takes  _a lot_ out of him to shift, so he hates to do it. He's always afraid he will get stressed and be stuck in a partial shift, with his mind only half online, and that terrifies him. So it's all or nothing with him, and lately he hasn't shifted at all. In fact, this might be the first time I've known him to shift in  _months._ It's not particularly healthy to go so long in between shifts, and thank to you two dumb asses, it might be months before he does it again.”

“We will have to apologize to him.” Steve said firmly. “I didn't realize it was something this serious. I mean, we saw a kitten and just--”

“I just wanted to hold the kitty.” Bucky said with a light flush and Steve punched him in the shoulder. “Ow! Stop that!”

“Be  _serious_ , you guys.” Rhodes took a deep breath. “Tony pretends to be a lot of things. He pretends not to be affected by anything, pretends not to be scared, pretends to brush everything off. He hides everything behind that sarcasm and those stupid expensive sunglasses but in his shifted form, he can't hide his emotions or his reactions. It's all instinct and feelings at that point.”

“When his parents… passed…” he cleared his throat, looking away from Bucky uncomfortably. “You couldn't even tell by looking at him. Tony went to class every day, aced his tests, mouthed off to some asshole that I then had to step in and beat up. But at night,  _every night_ for weeks, I'd have this tiny black cat curled up in my bed, shaking and crying and yowling because the pain in his heart was too much to handle. He can't hide  _anything_ in cat form. He's needy and insecure and  _craves_ physical affection because he's had so little of it his entire life.”

The Colonel stood to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. “That brings me to my next point. I don't know what this whole possessive protective thing is you two have going over Tony, but it needs to  _stop_.” His voice hardened and Steve and Bucky shrank back a little.

“Spending your days following him around and being so protective might just seem like you are looking out for your pack mate to an outsider, but it looks completely different to  _me._ All I see is two Alpha shifters sniffing after my best friend. And _that_ , boys, will get you your asses handed to you.”

“Tony likes both of you.  _Wants_ both of you, which is something he admitted to me in complete confidence, and something I am telling you  _only_ to warn you not to do anything stupid. He wants to share his shifted form with you two, which puts him in a very emotional and physically vulnerable spot.”

“I shouldn't have to tell you to be careful with my best friend.” Rhodey narrowed his eyes. “But I'm going to say it anyway. Tread _lightly_.”

“We wouldn't ever do anything to hurt Tony.” Steve started to object, at the same time that Bucky growled, “Why would you ever think we would do something like that?”

“ _Shut up_.” They shut up. “When you have Tony pressed up against you, purring, trying to get as close as he can because he  _needs_ it? You will give him what he needs.”

“If he needs that in cat form so be it. If he trusts you enough to need it in human form, _you will give him what he needs_ _.”_

 _“_ Tony doesn't actually think you two want him,” the Colonel rolled his eyes. “Which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard because everybody in the world knows how much you want him. But he's an oblivious little shit, so you boys are going to do one of two things.”

He waited for Steve and Bucky to meet his eyes before ordering, “You will either be there for Tony in whichever way and capacity he needs you to be, or you will back the _fuck_ off. Do you understand me?”

“I don't know if Tony wants you in a romantic, bonding type way, or if he's drawn to the amount of protective Alpha shifter vibes you guys give off, but either way? Give him what he needs, or leave him the hell alone.”

“That won't be a problem, Colonel.” Bucky said quietly, with a quick glance towards Steve. “If Tony's willing to share his shifted form with us, of course we will do whatever he needs to keep him comfortable like that.”

“Definitely.” Steve echoed. “We are-- we are in this for the long haul. Both of us.” a nod from Bucky. “Tony is safe with us.”

“Good.” Rhodes widened his stance a little, his hands dropping down by his side. “Did you know I am an Alpha level shifter as well? Have you boys ever seen my bear?” His voice dropped into a growl that seemed to rumble through the floor. “I stand eight feet tall _partial shifted_. Do I need to tell you what will happen if I ever hear that you have upset Tony?”

“N-Nope.” Steve's blue eyes went wide with shock and a healthy dose of fear.

“Good Christ.” Bucky squeaked, completely intimidated by the unassuming Colonel _growling_ at him.

“Well then.” Rhodes voice came back to normal and he smiled congenially. “Good talk boys. Always a pleasure catching up with you.”

They both jumped to their feet and saluted automatically as he left, then dropped back onto the couch, staring at each other nervously.

“Uh--did you know Rhodes was a  _bear?”_

“Nope. Much less an Alpha Level Shifter.”

“Huh.”

They sat in contemplative silence for another minute.

“So. Tony wants us both?” Bucky said hesitantly. “Because that's what Rhodes said and I don't really know--”

“--yeah, I don't know either.” Steve finished. “Maybe cross that bridge when we get to it?”

“So we would be sharing Tony? Or would all three of us be--”

“CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE GET TO IT!” Steve said even louder, and folded his arms stubbornly.

“Steve.” Bucky's voice sounded hoarse. “Can you imagine what he'd feel like between us?”

 _Fuck me._ All Steve could think about was Tony and Bucky in  _his_ bed. Rolling around beneath  _his_ sheets. So many hands and mouths and bare skin and tongue and--

“I'm going to go take a shower.” He announced and nearly ran from the room.

He wasn't fast enough to miss Bucky's soft moan though, and not quick enough to miss watching his best friend push the heel of his hand over the erection outlined behind his zipper, his head dropping back onto the couch.

Steve tore his eyes away and headed right for a cold shower.

_We are in trouble._

_Damn cat._

 


	3. Chapter 3

Things were… a little awkward between Steve and Bucky for the next few days after the talk with Colonel Rhodes.

Bucky was sure he'd never been so _aware_ that Steve only slept a few yards away in their shared room, and spent most of the night trying not to think of how easy it would be to just jump onto the other bed and start something with the Lion shifter _._ But then again, he didn't think he had ever wanted Steve like that, so maybe it was just the idea of  _Tony_ wanting both of them that suddenly drew him to his best friend?

Steve on the other hand was  _positive_ he had never noticed how thick Bucky's thighs were, but when the soldier crouched to pull a pan out of a cupboard Steve nearly spit his coffee out as a jolt of _awareness_ went through him. Never in his life had he looked at Bucky more than once-- alright, maybe two or three times before the war, and maybe a few times since bringing him home, but he had never thought about doing anything about. And all these new thoughts certainly hadn't been there a week ago so… so where were they coming from? Why the sudden urge to see how well he and Bucky would fit together? It had to be because of Tony.

_Damn cat._

Things were tense between them, neither shifter sure of how to broach the topic, neither one willing to be the first one to say anything--

\--and then everything was made worse,  _much much worse_ when Tony sashayed his perfect pert little ass into the kitchen the morning of day four and pinned both of them down with a stare.

“My honeybear is telling me that I need to shift more, to keep myself balanced.” he announced loudly and Steve and Bucky raised their eyebrows in unison. “He is also telling me to make sure I don't shift  _alone_ because my animal form is needy and suffers when it's alone. Or some…” he waved his hands around. “--other form of spectacular bullshit. So here's what we are going to do.”

He cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table. “I will be in my lab fully shifted, in about fifteen minutes. I would like both of you to come down and sit on the couch with me. You don't need to talk to me, just be there and available for some physical contact. That is all. Thank you for your time.”

Without waiting for an answer, Tony turned on his heel and swept back of the door, leaving the soldiers fairly perplexed about what had just happened.

“Honeybear?” Steve questioned. “What the hell is a _honeybear_?”

Bucky groaned out loud. “Remember Rhodes threatening us? How much do you want to bet Tony calls Rhodes _eight foot tall_ partial shifted animal  _honeybear_?”

“Of course he does. Of  _course_ Tony has a stupid nickname for an Alpha level shifter.” Steve stood to his feet uncertainly. “So-- shall we?” He motioned towards the door and Bucky stood just as slowly.

“I guess. I mean, we don't want to leave him waiting right? After he was brave enough to ask us?”

“I feel like we weren't so much asked as we were informed, but sure.”

A deep breath from Bucky. “So. Stevie. Will this will be sharing--”

“Don't.” Steve's eyes snapped closed. “Do not finish that sentence. Do  _not._ We will talk about that if the time comes.”

“Been thinking about it?” Bucky asked as they headed down the stairs.

“Damn it Bucky.  _Shut up._ ”

“Yeah. Me too.”

***************************

There were only a few lights on in the lab when they opened the door, all the computers shut down, the windows turned opaque so no one could see in. There was music playing from somewhere, and when the door slid smoothly shut behind them, the locks engaged to make sure that no one else came in.

And on the couch in the far corner, resplendent in all his six or seven pound glory, was Tony's tiny black cat, whiskers twitching as they came closer, eyes narrowing in warning when their faces lit with excitement.

Bucky actually had to bite back a whimper because  _Tony was the fucking cutest cat_ , and Steve elbowed him in annoyance.

Sitting next to Tony was a folded piece of paper addressed to both of them and Steve grabbed it first, scanning the contents quickly.

_Steve and Bucky,_

_You can imagine I'm not very comfortable with this whole thing, but I'm willing to try it. I'd never admit it to his face, but Rhodey is absolutely right that I need to be shifted more often, and with someone around to help me._

_I choose both of you. This doesn't have to affect our regular life, what happens here will stay here as far as I'm concerned. And as far as_ you  _are concerned, because if you spread it around that you spend half hours cuddling me I will find some way to neuter both your animals and make it look like an accident._

_That being said, please sit down next to one another and don't laugh. Barnes if you call me pretty kitty I will rake your eyes out. Cap if you pick me up by the scruff of my neck I will claw your throat out._

_We clear?_

_Sit your big asses down._

Steve wanted to laugh as he read the letter aloud, but managed not to, and sat down near the middle of the couch as carefully as he could. Bucky pulled off his jacket and right sat next to him, close enough that their thighs brushed and Steve had to cough to cover the way he jumped.

...he only jumped because Bucky startled him. That-- that was it.

It took a few minutes more of uneasiness, but finally Tony stood to all fours and delicately picked his way over the couch, hesitating just a little before placing a tiny paw on Steve's leg.

“It's alright.” Steve encouraged, trying not to sound condescending. “You can-- come on. Come sit on my lap. It's alright.”

“Come on, Tony.” Bucky added and made a coaxing motion with his hand. “Come here so we can pet you.”

Tony finally did, crossing Steve's lap to sit primly at the spot where their thighs were touching. With what could  _only_ be a suspicious glance from narrowed cat eyes, Tony gingerly lay himself down, half on Steve's leg, half on Bucky's.

“Gonna scratch your ears, alright, honey?” Bucky's voice deepened to something soothing and rumbly and Tony's ears flicked forward toward the comforting sound. Bucky smiled and reached for him, big fingers scratching behind the soft fur, and Tony's eyes started closing in pleasure. “Steve.” Bucky murmured, and Steve hesitantly reached to lay a hand lightly on Tony's back.

“Um, gonna pet your back?” Steve offered, feeling much more out of his comfort zone with tiny animals than Bucky was. Bucky had always been the one to bring home bedraggled dogs and abandoned cats so he was  _definitely_ better at this. Steve on the other hand, felt completely ridiculous.

“More.” Bucky instructed quietly, never changing his tone from that soothing low register, and Steve was surprised at how much he liked it.

“Gonna pet you a little, alright Tony?” Steve tried again. “You let me know if it's alright. Or- you know. Scratch me to hell if you don't.”

He ran a gentle hand from Tony's neck down his back, to the base of his tail, and the cat meowed softly and shivered a little, pressing tighter into their legs.

“He  _likes_ that.” Steve said in wonder. “Did you hear that?”

Bucky laughed at him.“You're a big cat, Steve, don't you meow when people give you back rubs?”

“I'm not a  _cat,_ I'm a Lion.” Steve said impatiently, and beneath his hand, Tony tensed up a little. “Nothing wrong with being a cat, of course. Nothing at all.” He hastened to correct himself, and Tony relaxed again.

“Better.” Bucky praised softly, never stopping rubbing behind Tony's ears, up and under his chin and down the soft fur on his neck.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, and then Tony jumped off their laps and stalked away.

“Are we… are we done?” Steve asked in confusion. “That's all he needed?”

Bucky shrugged. “Cats are pretty flighty. Maybe he just needed a break, maybe he's done. Let's just wait and see.”

“Alright.” Steve slouched a little further down on the couch, and  _ever so casually_ brought his hand to rest on Bucky's knee.

The canine shifter tilted his head and growled just a little, but trapped Steve's hand there with his own when Steve tried to pull away.

“Yeah?” Steve asked, and  _knew_ his voice came out a little strangled. “Good?”

“I… think so.” Bucky replied, sounding just as awkward, and Steve wanted to say something _else_ , but just then Tony reappeared, fully clothed in his usual jeans and long sleeve, sun glasses over his eyes.

“That's all for the day. Thanks for your time. You're dismissed.” He started turning lights and music on, machines whirring as they rebooted and Steve and Bucky exchanged a look.

“Alright. Guess we will see you at dinner?” Steve asked, and Tony just waved a hand at them.

“Uh, bye Tony.”

Feeling oddly… cheated? out of… something, maybe a hug or  _something_ , they left quickly and quietly, heading back upstairs together.

“So that wasn't bad.” Bucky commented slowly. “Not as awkward as it could have been, right?”

“No, not bad. Not awkward. Could do it again.” Steve replied.

“Right.” Bucky nodded in agreement, and as they turned to go up the last flight of stairs, Steve slipped his hand into Bucky's and squeezed lightly.

Bucky looked down curiously at their joined hands, but didn't pull away.

********************

It was almost a week before Tony called for them again, but they went right down stairs this time, both of them happy to be back on Tony's couch, petting and scratching at Tony's soft fur.

Four or five days after that, they were back again.

Sunday, which was the fourth time they had done this sort of thing, Bucky cleared his throat loudly when Tony reappeared back in human form, ready to kick them out and get back to working like he always did.

“Something you need, Buck?” Tony asked, already busy with whatever genius thing he was designing. “A throat lozenge, perhaps?”

“C’mere Tony.” Bucky ignored the sarcasm and reached out to pull the man into a hug, hiding his smile at Tony's undignified squawk of surprise. “Feels weird to be bonding with your cat and not with you, so just let me hold you for a minute.”

“Oh.” Tony managed, and as soon as Bucky released him, Steve stepped up and wrapped his arms around him as well.

“This is better.” Steve said quietly, and he just barely felt the nod from Tony against his shoulder. “Shouldn't be just running off after some light bonding. Feels weird.”

“Oh.” Tony said again, and Steve let him go after another minute, both of them smiling over the pink tinge to Tony's ears. “Alright. Well. See you both at dinner.”

As Steve and Bucky walked up the stairs, and Steve reached again for Bucky's hand, the gesture getting easier each time.“So getting Tony in my arms was kind of fucking perfect.”

“Hell yeah.” Bucky squeezed at his hand lightly. “Sure was.”

******************

Tony called them down to the lab the very next night, which was new, and this time he jumped right on their laps, pressing excitedly into Bucky's palm, arching his back as Steve stroked through the silky fur.

“He's happier since we told him we want to bond with _him_ too.” Bucky whispered and Steve nodded, edging closer so he and Bucky were touching from shoulders down to their feet.

“I am too.” He admitted and Bucky grinned. “It seems more natural this way.” In their laps, Tony started kneading his claws into Bucky's pants, then dropped his head and started purring.“Oh my god he's so cute.” Steve said in barely more than a whisper. “Good Lord he's cute.”

Bucky didn't even answer this time, his light blue eyes lit with adoration and affection as he stared down at the tiny cat.

Then he looked up at Steve and the blond almost forgot how to breathe when the adoration and affection slid into something _curious_ , and Bucky's gaze dropped down to his lips.

_Holy shit. They were in_ _**trouble.** _

 


	4. Chapter 4

So it became this  _thing_ , between the three of them.

Every few days Tony would ask both Bucky and Steve to come downstairs, and they would cuddle up on the couch until Tony was happy and purring, turning in circles between the two of them, head butting against their palms, his tail wrapping around which ever wrist was closer.

Then he would shift back into human form in his bathroom, and spend several minutes hugging both of them before going back to work, smiling and promising to see them at dinner.

It didn't seem like much, but the regular physical contact was  _helping_ , and the team noticed.

Tony's cheeks were always lit with a pretty flush now, his smile a little softer. He was more openly physically affectionate with the team members instead of being caring and sweet but sarcastic from a distance. In fact, he had gone so far as to let Wanda in Constrictor form loop herself around him when she needed to be held and Vision was gone from the compound.

Tony had happily sat on the couch and let her slither and slide until she was comfortable, smiling the entire time. Natasha had partial shifted as she watched, her own protective instincts kicking in seeing Tony wrapped in all those coils.

Tony had simply rolled his eyes and motioned her to come sit next to him, waving away the smoke as she huffed uneasily.

And Bucky and Steve watched it all with fond smiles on their face, holding hands beneath the table, each lost in their own soft thoughts about their cat shifter... and about each other.

*****************

*****************

“Steve.” Bucky changed positions for the  _umpteenth_ time in less than an hour and sighed loudly into the dark. “Stevie. You awake?”

“Well, I am  _now.”_ The blonde grumbled. “What do you want? Gotta be up in like two hours for a run.”

“Can't sleep.”

“Don't really know how to help with that, Buck.” Steve flopped over onto the pillow. “Try counting sheep or something. Isn't that what wolves do? I don't have any other ideas.”

“No?” Bucky sat up, and stared at his friend, letting his Wolf come forward just enough to enhance his night vision. “No ideas at all?”

“...no.” Steve said, but he shifted nervously on the bed. “No. No ideas.”

Bucky licked his lips as interest started winding through him. “Well, can I come over there and lay with you? Been so busy making sure Tony gets the physical affection he needs, I've been neglecting my Wolf.”

“Buck, I'm a feline shifter, you're canine.” Steve argued instantly. “We shouldn't even be comfortable in the same  _room_ , much less sharing a bed. It's probably not a good idea.”

“You are the King of bad ideas, Stevie.” Bucky let a teasing grow fill his words. “This won't even make the top ten of worst ideas you've ever had.” He watched as Steve's mouth worked for a minute, the blonde obviously trying to come up with a valid answer. “Well?” he prompted. “Can I come over, or not?”

“Fine.” Steve said with a sigh. “Only because you're right, I've been neglecting my Lion too. A little physical contact can't hurt.”

Bucky slid out of his own bed and right into Steve's, pressing their bodies together under the covers and sucking in a sharp breath when Steve fit right against him, warm and solid and--

“Bucky,  _wait_.” Steve bit out, and his eyes shot to gold as his Lion came forward, irritated at having another Alpha shifter in his space, much less a  _canine._ _”Wait. I need a minute.”_

“Easy.” Bucky growled, his fangs beginning to show beneath his lips. “Not gonna fight, Steve, just want to lay with you. Just want to be close, nothing else. Don't need to fight.”

That didn't calm Steve's Lion at  _all_ , and his eyes started glowing, his jaw popping as his teeth elongated, a rumble in his chest as his Lion woke up even more.

Bucky shook his head again, wrapping his metal arm around Steve's waist to keep him close when he tried to wiggle away.

“Shhh.” Bucky dropped his voice into that low comforting tone he used with Tony, and even tucked his head, nuzzling under Steve's chin in a show of submission,  _anything_ to keep the Lion from fully shifting and trying to tear him up.

But Steve was still breathing hard, the fingers digging into Bucky's waist pointed and sharp as his claws lengthened. “Bucky. Get out. You need to--”

“Steve, chill out!” Bucky snapped, and closed his teeth over the thick vein in Steve's neck, growling and tugging until Steve went absolutely _limp_ beside him, a whine replacing the snarl that had been building in his throat.

“Don't have to submit to me.” Bucky muttered. “Just don't want you to fight me. Be _Steve_ , not your Lion. Don't want to have to explain why we ended up shifting and tearing apart the room in anger. Tony will hate that. Just breathe easy, come on.”

“Sorry.” Steve was gasping, completely shifted down now, still holding tight to Bucky's waist, but this time to keep him close, their noses bumping with each breath. “Sorry, I didn't want to-- my Lion. Caught me off guard. Couldn't help the shift.”

“I know.” Bucky licked over the red bite mark soothingly, tucking his head again so Steve didn't feel like he was being reprimanded. Even only partial shifted, pheromones and hormones ran high, and the last thing he wanted was to push Steve into feeling like a sub, when he was so obviously an Alpha in every sense of the word.

“Easier for my Wolf to want to snuggle.” He continued, pulling Steve closer against him. “Pack animal, remember? Different for you, for your Lion. I get it. Difficult cause I'm canine. We're alright. Just give it a minute.”

“Yeah.” Steve's breathing was slowing, and he started moving his hands in easy circles over Bucky's back. “This is... good, I think. The physical contact? Think I like it with you.”

“Yeah. Yeah I think I like it with you too.” Bucky wove their legs together and after several minutes of breathing each other in, they slept.

***************

***************

“You smell like each other.” Tony commented when they came into the lab a few days later, and Bucky and Steve exchanged cautious looks.

“Um--”

“I like it.” Tony put his tablet down and joined them on the couch, sitting right on Bucky's lap but reaching for Steve, pressing his nose into Steve's neck and taking a deep breath.

“Oh.” Bucky said in surprise. Tony had never done  _this_ , willingly reached out for them in human form. Even after they cuddled with his cat, it was always Bucky or Steve who had to initiate a hug, and Tony just allowed it, always stepping away after a few minutes.

But this was  _nice_ and Steve's eyes were glazing over a little as Tony burrowed closer into him, his lips brushing against Steve's throat as he took a few more breaths of their combined scents. He wiggled happily on Bucky's lap, and Bucky carefully rested his hands on Tony's hips, feeling them shift beneath his fingers as he moved.

“Okay?” Tony asked uncertainly, and Bucky leaned forward to press his nose behind Tony's ear in an affectionate gesture.

“ _Anything_ is okay, Tony. Whatever you want. Want to do this all day or do you still need to shift?”

“This is fine.” Steve interrupted and threaded his fingers through Tony's soft hair, keeping him pressed close against him. “Don't need to shift. Let's just do  _this_.”

Bucky couldn't help the jealous curl of  _possessive_ hat moved through him watching Steve enjoy having Tony so close, but refused to let it surface, keeping his expression carefully blank as he wouldn't upset either of them.

“No, Buck's right.” Tony pulled away reluctantly. “I still need to shift. I'll be right back.”

Before he moved from Bucky's lap, he ducked his head into the canines neck and breathed in deep, a little moan catching in his throat, and Bucky's eyes dilated to nearly black with  _want_ , his arms slipping around Tony's waist to hold him for a moment.

When Tony finally moved, heading to the bathroom to change and shift, Steve scooted closer until they were pressed together, and Bucky rested his left arm over Steve's shoulders lightly.

“Didn't realize our scents combined.”

“Makes sense. Been sharing a bed for a few days. Surprised no one else has commented on it.”

“Actually, Clint has been looking like he might explode if he doesn't say something annoying soon, so maybe  _he_ has noticed and is terrified to say anything.”

“He should be.” Bucky growled a little, and Steve laughed.

They still hadn't talked about  _what_ they were doing sharing a bed. They hadn't tried kissing, or even really snuggling, just lying next to each other with their legs touching. Steve was sleeping better, his Lions need for touch being satisfied. Bucky was sleeping  _perfectly_ , always happier sleeping with a pack member then by himself.

And maybe this was enough-- both Alpha shifters being close to each other after being close to Tony. They might not need to try and take it further, maybe they didn't need to worry that being with Tony would require being with each other--

\--but maybe it would.

Neither one of them were ready to think about _that_ yet.

Tony reappeared then, making a beeline for their laps and stretching out happily, so they quit thinking about each other and focused on getting their hands all over the pretty black cat.

“You're beautiful like this, Tony.” Steve said after a few minutes, and Tony stopped mid purr, staring up at him in surprise. “Don't look so shocked.” Steve teased, finally completely at ease talking to the cat, knowing Tony could understand everything he said, even if he couldn't reply. “You know you're beautiful. All black and silky. Gorgeous.”

In response the cat climbed his chest as fast as he could, burying his little face in the crook of Steve's neck and purring louder, his rough tongue licking over the sensitive skin.

“Oh my gosh.” Steve held him up higher, letting him curl closer, and Bucky just grinned watching them. “Tony… um, this is---” he shot a helpless look at Bucky who just shrugged. “ _He's licking me.”_ He mouthed. “He's so sweet!”

“Makes me wish I'd told him he was beautiful first.” Bucky joked, starting to feel jealous again as he petted Tony's back gently. “You gonna share some of those snuggles, sugar, or is it all about Steve today?”

Tony switched instantly, going limp and falling into Bucky's hands carelessly, fully trusting the soldier not to drop him. Bucky brought the little feline up to his own neck, rubbing their noses together lightly before encouraging Tony snuggle into him. The cat shifted purred and whined happily, his little tongue like sandpaper making Bucky shiver.

Bucky eased his arm out from around Steve and patted his lap. “Why don't you stretch out here, put your head on my lap and I'll put Tony on your chest. Then we can all touch, huh? Seems like our boy wants to be close to both of us today.”

Steve stripped off his sweater and lay down across Bucky's legs, their eyes meeting and then skidding away when Steve's hand landed high on Bucky's leg as he tried to get comfortable. Then Bucky gently placed Tony down on Steve's broad chest, and the cat curled into a tiny ball and closed his eyes, purring sleeping.

Bucky wove one hand through Steve's short hair, checking to make sure it wouldn't set the Lion off, and rested the other on Tony's back. “There we go. This is perfect.”

“Perfect.” Steve replied, and Tony's tail just twitched a little, his eyes closed tight as he slept.

******************

Bucky woke with a start, eyes jerking open as he tried to orient himself.

They were all still in the lab, his hand resting in Steve's hair, and the blond was snoring quietly. Bucky grinned down at him, letting Steve's hair fall through the fingers of one hand as he rubbed his other down Tony's back slowly, relishing the feel of lean muscles and bare skin and--

\---and-and-and holy  _fuck_ Tony was naked.

While they were all sleeping, Tony had  _apparently_ shifted back to human and was lying bare naked between Steve's legs, fingers curled into Steve's t shirt, his head resting over his heart.

“Tony.” Bucky whispered, and swallowed hard, unable to keep his eyes from drifting down his back, over the curve of that perfect ass, and down long legs. His Wolf stirred, the need to _touch_ and _claim_ rising inside him.“Fucking  _hell,_ Tony.”

Steve's eyes opened at his whispered exclamation, brow furrowing as he tried to remember where they were. “Buck are we still--” his eyes widened, then shot through with gold as he realized  _why_ he was so heavy and warm, and  _who_ was lying on top of him.

“When did he shift?” Steve wanted to know, trying hard to keep his voice from rumbling as his Lion tried to come forward. “Is he awake? What the hell are we supposed to do?”

Bucky shook his head quickly, dismayed when he felt his teeth sharpening, the idea of another Alpha shifter so close to  _his_ _intended_ _mate_ making him angry.

But oh, that thought brought him up short. Tony as his intended mate?

 _Yes_. His Wolf growled and Bucky swallowed hard, scraping his tongue over the quickly growing length of fangs in his mouth. _My mate._

“Buck, I need to get out of here.” Steve managed to say, working to keep his voice low as his own fangs made an appearance, digging into his bottom lip. “Tony--  _mine_ \--want to--”

“I know.” Bucky nodded, trying not to snarl at the Lion saying Tony was  _his._ “We _can't_ fight about this. We  _cannot_ , Steve. He will kill us.”

“Stop talking, I'm napping.” Tony mumbled sleepily, and they both snapped their mouths shut, looking down at him. “What could you two possibly be arguing about right now?”

He yawned loudly and started to sit up, then stopped and looked down between his and Steve's body. “Oh, oh  _hey_ , I'm _naked_.” Tony's surprise was so comical that some of the tension dissipated, and Bucky was able to take a breath without feeling like he needed to throw his head back and howl.

“You shifted back to human while we were sleeping.” he explained, keeping his eyes firmly trained on Tony's face and not the rest of him. “Do you usually do that?”

“Not usually. Sorry about that. Um, I didn't expect that to happen.” Seemingly unfazed, and completely oblivious to the state both the other shifters were in, Tony reached for a blanket from the floor and covered his nakedness, sliding off of Steve and headed for the rest of his clothes.

As soon as he was out of the room, Bucky pushed Steve right off his lap and onto the floor, jumping to his feet and pacing anxiously.

“Need to leave.” Steve said as he struggled to his feet, barely coherent as the Lion pressed forward even more, the muscles in his chest and arms straining to control the shift.

“Yep.” Bucky snapped, his teeth popping as his jaw started aching with the need to stretch, to make room for fangs. “Need to leave _now_.”

“Definitely can't leave you here with him. Not even sure I can walk up the stairs with you.” Steve admitted, clenching his fists and then flinching as his claws cut into his palms. “What the hell are we gonna do?”

“Two exits.” Bucky mumbled. “Can ask FRIDAY to lock both behind us. Both of us have to leave, neither one of us can get back in. It will work.”

“Yeah, yeah alright.”

So that's what they did.

Bucky took off in one direction, and Steve took off in the other, both of them yelling for Friday to seal the doors behind them.

Steve didn't make it more than a hundred yards before he fell into his shift, his Lion roaring with the need to go back and claim his mate.

Bucky had a little more control over his wolf, but still looked wild enough as he ran past the common area that Clint yelped and flung nachos at him in a hilariously messy, but entirely unfruitful attempt to keep the Wolf from charging him.

Completely unaware of what had happened, Tony reappeared fully dressed from the bathroom, more than ready for some post-shift hugs, but both the other shifters were gone.

So he put his sunglasses on and started working on his current project, trying to convince himself that they  _hadn't_ left because he'd shifted down into human.  _Surely_ they hadn't left because they didn't want to cuddle him as a human right? It had been fine cuddling a little when he was dressed, so maybe it was because he had been naked? Maybe he had been reading their signals wrong. Maybe they only wanted to bond with his cat because of pack mentality? Maybe they hadn't  _really_ liked it when he tried to snuggle and scent them before and had been just humouring him.

Which was fine.

Just  _fucking_ fine.

….Wasn't it?

 


	5. Chapter 5

Rhodes threw Steve through a window first, and the soldier partial shifted into his Lion with a snarl, his feet slipping and sliding on the shattered glass as he tried for balance on the grass.

Bucky was next, destroying the rest of the window and smashing into the ground, but he was fully shifted into his Wolf before he even stood back up, baring his teeth furiously at Rhodes.

Then both of them were scrambling backwards, shifting down into human as fast as they could and yelling at the top of their lungs as the twelve foot tall black bear came crashing through the wall and onto the lawn, each step of its massive paws leaving a dent in the ground, jaws open in a roar that shook the soldiers to their very core.

And stalking behind the bear, nose in the air, tail twitching irritably, came Tony.

Turns out he wasn't as alright with being rejected as he had originally thought.

That would teach those  _stupid_ soldiers to hurt his feelings.

Honeybear to the fucking  _rescue_.

*****************

*****************

“Now  _boys_.” The Colonel crossed his arms over his chest. “I want you to tell Tony  _exactly_ what you told me. Don't leave anything out or I'll put you through a wall again.”

Bucky and Steve, both dressed again and looking more than a little terrified, nodded in unison.

“It wasn't that we didn't want to be around you after shifted down, Tony.” Steve began awkwardly and the black cat just twitched his tail.

“It's just that--” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Just that you were  _naked_ , and both our animals got--got--um--”

“ _Got??_ ” Rhodes thundered and Bucky jumped. “Finish your fucking sentence!”

“We both got possessive and were afraid we couldn't control our shift!” Steve blurted. “Bucky and I have been getting… closer but---”

“But feline shifters and canine shifters don't ever really get along and we  _both_ want you, so seeing you naked--”

“--both our animals wanted to claim you, and of course, fight the other shifter in the room so--”

“-- so we left so we wouldn't do anything stupid.” Bucky finished lamely. “And we are really  _really_ sorry if that hurt your feelings.”

“ _Of course it hurt his feelings!”_ Rhodes growled, and the Bear was still so close to the surface that it came out as more of a rumble and less of a sentence.

Tony stood on his hind legs and pressed his little face into Rhodey's, meowing softly until the man calmed down.

“I told I would kick your asses if you upset Tony.” he warned. “Consider yourself lucky I only scared the living hell out of you today. If it happens again, I will _crush_ you, Super soldiers or not. Pretty sure I can carry your shield, Cap, you ain't all that special. And Bucky, wolves are about a dime a dozen so  _don't_ _fucking_ _test me, or I will toss your mangy hide away and find another one for the team, do I make myself perfectly clear?”_

He scooped Tony up into his arms and left the room, leaving Bucky and Steve shaking on the couch.

“I have never been more scared in my life.” Steve admitted, and Bucky couldn't even laugh about it.

“Somehow this was more terrifying than any flashback I could ever have.”

“Heya pals.” Clint and Natasha appeared in the doorway. “Met Rhodey's bear, did you?”

“Um--um--”

Clint's lips twitched into a smirk. “Yeah, so story time. Back before Tony was Iron Man, and he was just rich and obnoxious and hot--” two sets of eyes snapped up to meet his. “-- what? You think just because Tasha and I are together I'm blind to how gorgeous Tony is? You two are all brawn and no brain aren't you?”

“Clint.” Tasha murmured and he coughed.

“Right. Anyway. So I meet Tony, ended up trying to be flirty and funny and offended the hell out of him without realizing it.”

“Imagine that.” Bucky muttered and Clint glared at him.

“So anyway. Later that night, I shift into my hawk and go to take off, and a partial shifted Rhodey-bear reaches into the sky and snatches me back to ground. Surprised he didn't break my wings. Tells me in the most terrifying voice in the world, that if I _ever_ upset Tony again he'd pluck all my feathers and roast me for dinner. Then let me go. It took me six months to even be able to look him in the eye again.”

“He's intense.” Natasha nodded. “I wouldn't feel comfortable going up against him, even in full dragon form. I feel like he could rip my wings off without blinking.”

“How is he so big?” Bucky stammered. “His bear is _twice_ my height. And Rhodes is like,  _half_ my height in real life. I've hardly even heard him raise his voice but--”

“It's because he's such a good person.” Clint said decisively. “Not only is he fairly high ranking military,  _and_ War Machine, which would make his bear big  _anyway_ but he's genuinely the nicest person I've ever met. Maybe nicer than Phil, but I would never say that out loud. The strength of his heart, his  _soul._ That's what fuels his bear.”

“That makes it _worse_. Makes it scarier.” Bucky complained. “I can't compete with a guy who's animal is directly proportionate to the goodness in his heart!”

“Well maybe next time you don't piss Tony off.” Clint snapped, and Bucky popped his teeth right back, bursting into a partial shift and growling at him.

“Down boy.” Clint waved his hand in a bored fashion. “I've heard you scream like a child, you don't scare me anymore.”

****************

A week and a half later, both Steve and Bucky were snappish and irritable with each other and everyone else.

Tony had barely spoken to them the last ten days, and certainly hadn't called them to help with his shifts at all. Their almost daily dose of snuggles and cuteness had completely disappeared, and tensions were so high between the Lion and Wolf that they couldn't even share a bed anymore.

When Bucky had walked into the bedroom the other night, Steve had partial shifted almost instantly, eyes flashing gold, a warning snarl building in his chest. Bucky had had to partial shift himself, and they had spent a restless night unable to relax around each other at all, even in separate beds.

This morning they couldn't even  _sit_ together.

Bucky was pacing anxiously in the living room, Steve tapping his claws on the kitchen table, physically unable to bring himself out of a partial shift because he was _so stressed out._ _Neither of them had realized how much they had counted on Tony being with them to keep them level until the little shifter started refusing to be around them._

_It was tearing them up mentally, throwing them out of sync emotionally, and driving a wedge into their friendship, effectively putting a stop to anything romantic that had been blossoming._

_And it was making the rest of the team_ _insane_ _._

“ _Enough_.” Wanda yelled, when Bucky got too close to the kitchen and Steve jumped to his feet in a clear challenge. Bucky had just squared up his shoulders, more than ready to _accept_ the challenge, when Wanda pushed her chair back and sent them both a glare.

“I cannot handle the tension anymore. Bucky, come let your Wolf run with Natasha and I. You need out of the compound and away from the Captain. Tonight, Hawk and Vision can take Captain out. Let's go.”

“I don't want to go.” Bucky protested. The thought of Steve alone with Tony made his skin crawl and his Wolf  _furious_.

“I wasn't asking.” Wanda lifted her hand, letting her power arc between her fingers and glow in her eyes and Natasha murmured in agreement behind her.

“Fine.” Bucky couldn't even look at Steve, turning away as he started undressing so he could shift.

In the entirely creepy way of shifting unique only to Snakes, Wanda took two steps forward, and let her entire body shimmer and melt away, her human skin seeming to shed itself, leaving her as her Constrictor, thick coils tensing and moving as she curled her body close together to avoid being stepped on.

“Come on.” Tasha sighed and stepped out of her dress, treating everyone to a quick flash of perfect curves before the scales starting climbing her body, smoke puffing from her mouth when she exhaled.

Bucky grumbled a little a more, but dropped his pants and let his Wolf take over, growling at the pain that always accompanied his left arm changing. Hydra had managed to design the arm to shift with him but it always  _hurt_ and he hated it. Hated the reminder of his Winter Soldier days. He even kind of hated how close his Wolf came to emulating the Winter Soldier, all brute strength and and barely checked power and killer instinct.

But he couldn't deny how much he loved the  _freedom_ being in Wolf form brought him, and he knew a hard run would do wonders for his state of mind.

“We will see you in a few hours.” Vision said calmly, running his hand over several feet of Wanda, and the Constrictors eyes glowed red at the gentle touch. Vision couldn't shift, for obvious reasons, but he loved Wanda just as much in her Constrictor form as he did human, and she  _loved_ that.

Raising her coils to push more of them through his hands, she sent him another soft look before heading out the door, closely followed by Bucky, and then Natasha.

Once they were gone, Steve was finally able to pull himself from his partial shift, breathing a sigh of relief, and Clint clicked his tongue in sympathy.

“Why don't you go paint or _something_ _._ We’ll run you ragged later, so go get some rest. Can't imagine you sleep well with the canine shifter in your room. Go sleep, we will come looking for you when they get home.”

Steve didn't answer, just sent both Clint and Vision a jerky nod and headed up to his room.

*****************

He'd only been asleep a few minutes when the door to his room banged open, and a very disgruntled Tony stood there glaring at him.

“I haven't hardly slept all week.” Tony spat. “Haven't been able to shift alone. It's making me crazy. Both you Alpha shifters are  _so_ stupid and it pisses me off, but I need you anyway so get your asses down to my lab and--- hey, where's Bucky? I came looking for both of you.” His face fell and Steve sat up on his elbows.

“Bucks out running. Needed a break from all--” he made a circle motion with one hand. “You know?”

“Oh.” Tony looked even more upset and kicked at the carpet self consciously. “I came in here all ready to yell at you guys and demand a little attention but now I'm not really sure what to do.”

Steve bit back his laugh and held out a hand hopefully. “Well… I'm here, if you want.”

Tony eyed him curiously. “Without Bucky? We've never done that.”

“Being close to Bucky isn't the part of this whole thing I have been missing.” Steve said, feeling a twinge of guilt as he said it because shifter biology aside, he was missing Bucky.

Just not as much as he was missing Tony. “I miss you, Tony.” he murmured, and and Tony's eyes lit warmed.

“ _Oh_.”

“Come on.” Steve urged. “I'll close my eyes and you can shift and we can just lay here, huh?”

“Yeah. Alright, that sounds good.” Tony nodded quickly, and was already unbuttoning his shirt, so Steve dropped a pillow over his face so he wouldn't stare.

Within a minute, he felt tiny laws pressing at him lightly and he opened his eyes again.“Hey there, beautiful.” He turned on his side, making room on the bed and Tony curled into a little ball next to him, nose pressed into his stomach. “Yeah, we can nap like this. This is fine.”

Without a second thought for what might happen if Bucky walked in on their little scene, Steve closed his eyes and fell back asleep to the little purr coming from his favorite shifter.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Tony woke up  _warm,_ and he stretched languidly, his fingers skipping up all those thick muscles in Steve's back, and he twined their legs together, humming when Steve rumbled something low in his chest and gathered him closer.

Tony looped an arm around Steve's neck, breathing a nose full of his unique scent, all gold and warm and _fierce_ , and made a happy trilling noise, tangling his fingers in the short hair and tugging lightly.

“Tony.” Steve asked softly, and Tony pressed tighter to him, gasping a little when Steve, hard and  _ready,_ dug into his stomach. “What are you doing? Do you realize you're shifted down to human?”

“I'm aware.” Tony tried to sound sarcastic, but it just came out breathy and  _low._ “This is good.” He said then. “So  _warm_. Comfortable. Happy in your arms. Feels right.” Tony murmured, and rocked forward into him. “Don't we feel good together?”

Steve groaned in agreement, giving in instantly because  _holy hell_ he had wanted Tony for so long.

His hands dropped down to grip Tony's ass, grinding their hips together in a harsh rhythm, as he started nosing over Tony's forehead, down to his ears, his tongue flicking out to dance over bare skin.

“Oh, oh my god,  _yes.”_ Tony's voice rose when the Alpha shifter rolled them in the bed, covering Tony's lean frame with his own bulk, pushing his legs to lay heavy between narrow hips until Tony had a hard time drawing a full breath because  _oh_ Steve was big and  _hard_ and Tony was suddenly desperate for him.

“Do you want me?” Steve pulled back enough to stare down at him, eyes wide and golden as his Lion came forward and Tony shivered and arched his back to get closer. “Tony. Say yes. Can't do anything until you say  _yes.”_

“Yes, yes  _.”_ He panted, and Steve bent down to kiss him, taking his mouth in a hard embrace, nipping lightly at Tony's tongue as they tangled together.

“Shift for me.” Steve said hoarsely. “Just partial. Just want to play with you a little. Let your cat out to play with me.  _Please_.” His Lion was  _roaring,_ stretching inside him and Tony sucked in a quick breath when Steve's muscles bulged with the effort of containing the animal.

They were  _both_ felines, which meant the Lion wanted to break free and  _claim,_ not realizing that's Tony's feline was too small. But  _partial_ \-- they could play for  _hours_ in their partial shifts.

“  _Please_.” Steve asked, sucking hard kisses into Tony's neck, his hands roaming greedily over  _so much_ naked skin. “Tony, shift for me.”

“I--I can't.” Tony shook his head. “Scared to get stuck in partial.”

“I'd take care of you, you wouldn't have to worry about anything.” Steve's voice was lowering in pitch, getting rougher as he moved against Tony restlessly. “Want to see you, bet you're so beautiful like that. Shift for me, little pretty one. Come out and play.”

“No.” Tony bit at his neck lightly. “I don't like to partial shift, Steve.”

Steve nodded over a reluctant whine, kissing him again until Tony forgot all about not wanting to shift and was wriggling beneath him, scratching his nails down Steve's back and mewling for _more_.

“I've got you sweetheart.” he whispered. “Can I touch you like this, let me just---” he pushed his own pants down over his hips, and Tony tossed his head back and  _yelled_ when their cocks slotted together, sparks flashing behind his eyes, hissing when the soldier wrapped a big hand over both of them, stroking them together.

“Oh dammit that feels good.” Tony rocked his hips into the steady grip, wrapping his legs around Steve's waist and grinding up against him. “Steve, don't stop. Don't stop.”

“Oh Tony, _please.”_ Steve was  _begging_ now, running his free hand up Tony's long legs, back down to grip his ass. “Oh god,  _please_ shift Tony, this is too much for me. Want you so bad, can't even think straight. Can't bond with you if you won't shift and want to bond with you so badly, just let me see you, just partial for me, come on baby---”

“ _Steve!_ ” Tony snapped. “I said  _no._ _Drop it or I'm leaving!”_

The Alpha shifter backed off, kissing him apologetically. “Sorry. I'm  _sorry_ , Tony. Instinct, I can't help it, I can't help wanting you like that. Not an excuse, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked again. I'm sorry honey, sweetheart, please don't be mad--”

“I know.” Tony soothed him, and rolled his hips lightly, “I'm not mad, just stop asking, alright? But don't stop  _this_.”

“ _Oh_.” Steve groaned in relief, and grabbed the bottle of lube from under his pillow, coating them both generously, before lifting Tony's legs to his shoulders. “Tony Tony  _Tony_ , can't wait to have you, to be inside you.”

“Oh  _fuck_ yes, please.” Tony fisted his hands in his own hair, closing his eyes as Steve bumped against him, pressing steadily against his tight entrance. “Oh, oh  _oh fuck_!”

“Not gonna take you.” Steve rasped. “Not yet, not till we can bond, you want to bond with me, don't you? Pretty little shifter? Not today, not today but maybe soon?”

“ _Yes_.” Tony rocked his hips back against Steve's cock, pulling a cry from the Lion shifter's throat. “Yes. Not today, but soon. _Soon_.”

“Oh god.” Steve surged forward into another hard kiss. “Yes, we can wait until we can bond, yeah? But for right now I just want to feel you so bad. Just want to feel you a little.” He leaned forward even more, pressing into Tony  _more,_ and started working Tony's cock again, hard fast strokes, tightening and twisting over the head until Tony was shaking and crying out for relief.

The blunt pressure seeking entrance to his body, and the firm grip around his cock was  _so perfect_ , and Steve bent over him to seal their mouths together and all too soon Tony was _screaming_ as he came, shouting for Steve, for his  _mate,_ every inch of his body tightening and trembling as he spilled over into Steve's hand, coating his own stomach and the sheets with his release.

“Oh,  _yes_ Tony.” Steve wrapped a hand around his own cock and stroked furiously until he was coming too, pouring hot and wet into the sharp vee of Tony's hips, over the still pulsing cock, overflowing onto his thighs. “Ah sweetheart, that was  _perfect. Y_ _ou are perfect, my mate, pretty sweet thing.”_

Tony was whimpering, over sensitive, but unwilling to pull away, shivering when Steve ran his fingers through the mess of come, rubbing it into his skin with firm circles as he kissed him over and over.

“Mine.” Steve was panting, barely letting Tony breathe between kisses. “Mine. Mine.  _Mine_.”

“Rubbing your come into me is a little gross.” Tony mumbled with a short laugh but Steve didn't stop, didn't even pause, and Tony just closed his eyes and let the Alpha shifter do what he needed to cement this new partial bond they had.

“Tony. Thank you. Thank you.  _Mine_. Oh sweetheart, thank you.” Steve was trying to bring his breathing back under control, trying to wrestle his Lion back, not able to relax until his vision returned to normal as his eyes changed back to blue.

“You are beautiful.” He whispered and Tony trilled in happiness, rubbing their noses together. “Do you have to leave?” Steve asked softly. “Can you stay? Please stay with me? Want to hold you, waited so long to hold you like this honey.”

“I'll stay with you.” Tony promised and wanted to smile when the big shifter made a noise like a purr. “Let me get cleaned up and then--”

“No.” Steve's eyes shot to gold again and he pinned Tony to the bed. “  _No._ ”

Tony's eyes widened with a flash of fear and Steve shook his head, loosening his hold immediately. “Sorry, sorry, but please… just a little longer like this? Please? Need to scent you like this. You understand?”

“You Alpha shifters are gross.” Tony teased and Steve's eyes faded to blue again.

“I'm sorry. We can---

“I love it.” Tony confessed and curled into Steve's body, ignoring the cooling mess between them. “  _Love_ it. I can stay like this as long as you need.”

“Mine.” Steve said again, closing his eyes and gathering his intended mate close. “  _Tony_.”

*********************

*********************

Natasha slammed the door the living room shut and threw herself against it.“  _No_ , Bucky.” She said. “Do not go in there.”

The Wolf shifter sent her a strange look. “Move, dragon breath. I want to go find Steve and apologize about earlier and then go find Tony.”

He was feeling  _much_ better after letting his Wolf out for several hours. Natasha had even let him wrestle with her, her scales protecting her from teeth and claws, and she had only had to loose her fire a little bit near the beginning when his aggression was running too high and he needed to back off.

He was  _much_ better now, anxious to get his hands on Tony, anxious to get his hands on Steve, and not even a Dragon shifter was going to stop him.

“ _No_.” She said, louder this time, and widened her stance, baring her teeth warningly. She had only taken one step inside the room, and knew without a question that Bucky absolutely did  _not_ need to be in there.

“Tasha, I swear to god.” Bucky closed his eyes in frustration. “Just want to apologize to Steve. Not gonna kill him. I'm calmer now. He's my best friend and we've been at each other's throats lately.  _Move.”_

“Hey guys.” Clint sauntered down the hallway and stood on his toes to press a kiss to his partial shifted girlfriends lips. “How was your run? You guys headed into the living room?” He reached behind her and opened the door before Natasha could warn him not to.

“Bucky, you need to  _wait_!” She yelled as he pushed past her into the common area--

\--and stopped dead in his tracks.

Tony looked up from his book and smiled. “Heya Buck.” He looked relaxed and refreshed, cheeks lit with a healthy flush, and he  _reeked_ of Steve.

 _Reeked_.

Bucky's eyes snapped shut against it, trying hard to control his shift, trying not to breathe, trying  _not_ to think about Steve and Tony together, because that is  _obviously_ what had happened while he was gone.

“I'm glad you're home.” Tony was saying. “I wanted to tell you I'm not mad anymore. Um--” he grinned a little sheepishly. “I was hoping we could spend some time together and maybe--Buck? What's wrong? Wait! Wait Bucky  _no_!!” He yelled out loud when Bucky shifted in a split second to his Wolf, growling and snarling and snapping as Steve walked in from the kitchen.

“Easy Buck.” Steve dropped the plate he was holding and stepped back a little, hands raised peacefully. “It's not what you think,  _not_ what you think, Tony just needed some comfort and I--”

Bucky gave up holding himself back when he heard  _his mates name_ from the lips of the Lion shifter. With a terrible howl, Bucky threw himself across the room, his Wolf crossing the distance in two hard leaps, and landing square on Steve's chest, snapping after his throat.

“Fucking hell, Steve  _shift!”_ Natasha screamed and went running to try and drag Tony out of the way.

The Lion rushed forward from Steve with a ground shaking roar, kicking the Wolf off and sending him into and nearly through the wall on the other side of the room.

Bucky got to his feet, ears flattened back against his head, staring Steve's Lion dead in the eye. Both the Alpha shifters were more than capable of putting the other down, and both upset enough to  _try_ it.

Natasha wrestled a frantic Tony into the kitchen, her wings snapping free from her shoulders as she shifted further into her dragon, horns curling from her head as she grew another few inches. Clint partial shifted as well, his wings whipping out and settling close to shield Tony from any flying debris, and Wanda curled protectively around their feet. She couldn't use her powers in Constrictor form, and it took several minutes to shift down into human, so she couldn't do much besides guard Tony with the rest of them.

Steve took a big step towards Bucky and  _roared_ , shaking his head in pure intimidation but Bucky didn't back off at all, the growl rumbling in his chest loud enough to hear clear across the room.

Then the Lion leapt for the Wolf, and they met in the middle in a horrible crash of fangs and claws and  _so much strength_ that the room shook when they collided, their back paws tearing gouges in the hardwood floor as they pushed and shoved at each other.

Bucky was the first to fall, the sheer amount of  _weight_ behind Steve's Lion pushing him to the floor, but he was back on his feet almost instantly, teeth stabbing into Steve's shoulder.

A roar of pain from the Lion, and a giant paw struck, nails raking through fur and muscle making the Wolf retreat several steps whining. Steve chased him, but stumbled with his hurt shoulder, feet skidding on the floor and Bucky whirled around and went for his throat, jaws clicking shut just a few inches from his jugular.

“Enough!!  _Enough!!”_ Tony was screaming then, tearing himself from Natasha's grasp and racing right into the middle of the fight.

“Tony! Tony no!” Clint jumped to fly across the room and snatch him up but--

“No!!” Tony screamed again, and both the huge animals came to a dead stop, stunned at his appearance in the middle of their battle.

“Both of you  _stop!”_ Tony actually stamped his foot, and the Wolf dropped back to it's haunches immediately, then went down to the floor, placing his nose on his front paws and staring up at Tony with wide eyes.

The Lion followed suit, dropping his huge head onto his paws, blinking up at the man between them in complete submission.

“What-- what just happened?” Clint asked in disbelief, and Natasha took a step back warily, wings still raised defensively.

“Um. I think both of those Alpha Shifters just  _submitted_ to Tony.”

“You will  _not_ do this.” Tony was yelling. “Stop it! Both of you need to chill the fuck out! Why are you fighting? Why are you _always_ fighting! What is it this time?”

Bucky shifted down to his partial, sitting back on his knees with a pillow to cover himself. “Tony.” He was breathing hard, his words agonized. “You chose  _Steve_? You… bonded with him while I was gone and you--I can  _smell_ him on you. It's all I can smell. It's making me insane. I thought you wanted both of us and then you let Steve---”

“No.” Tony said quickly, holding his hands out placatingly. “ _No_. We didn't bond. Bucky we _didn't._ _That's no_ t what this is.”

Steve shifted down to partial as well, grabbing a blanket to wrap around his waist, rubbing the marks on his shoulder where the Wolfs jaw had connected.

“We didn't!” Tony insisted, and tugged at his hair anxiously. “I wouldn't do that to you, Bucky, I _wouldn't._ I came looking for  _both_ of you,  _both of you_ and only Steve was here and---”

“And he wasn't about to turn down the chance to claim you first.” Bucky snarled and Steve bared his fangs at him.

“No. No!! Listen, this is  _my_ fault. I've been shifting down when I sleep and I slept next to Steve anyway, not thinking about the consequences. Not his fault, mine. There was no claiming, no  _anything_. Not even real sex! I swear!”

“He could have said no.” Bucky's voice dropped lower as his Wolf started raging again. “He could have said no!”

Steve's eyes shot to gold. “As if you would have said no to him.” He snapped.

 “Stop it! I can't handle you fighting!!” Tony shrieked, and then he was crying out in pain as he dropped unexpectedly into a partial shift, ears and tail forcing their way to the surface, sharp claws coming from his fingertips and slicing into his palms.

“God  _dammit_! You fucking  _animals_ pushed me into a partial shift! See what you did? Stop fighting! I can't handle this!”

Natasha moved forward then, wrapping her still scaly arms and wings around him. “Shh. Tony come on. Let's go get you settled down and get you out of this partial shift.” Too emotional by far, Tony started crying as she led him away.

She sent the Alpha shifters a fierce glare. “I am going to barbecue you two, do you understand? What were you thinking, upsetting him like this. Clint, I'm going to take him to his room. Would you please just -- hurt these assholes. Neuter them or something.”

“Nah. I'll just call Rhodey. Pretty sure he can take care of it.” Clint said with a wicked grin, and threw an arm over Tony's shoulder to help him from the room. The Constrictor followed slowly, leaving Bucky and Steve still staring at each other, still breathing hard from their fight.

“We  _didn't_ bond, Bucky.” Steve said quietly, pulling his Lion completely back with difficulty. “I asked him to shift for me so we could bond and he  _wouldn't_. He said  _no_ , like three different times. And it's because you weren't there. It's not just me he wants, Buck, it's  _not_. He wants both of us and I am so sorry that I let it go that far. You're my best friend and I--”

Bucky just snorted and looked away, his fangs still present when he growled. “Stay the fuck away from me, Steve.”

“Buck, come on, please.” Steve reached out to him and Bucky snapped his jaws in warning.

“Stay away from me.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

Tony was definitely stuck in his partial shift form, and he was  _furious._

The entire tower was full of his screeching, slash marks in all the pillows because he couldn't retract his claws, and he couldn't wear anything except pajama pants and a hoodie because his tail wouldn't fit into or over his suit pants, and he needed a hood for his ears.

He was  _furious_ because he couldn't wear his favorite suits.  _Furious_ because his tail got in the way of everything.  _Furious_ because he'd forget he had claws and go to grab something and destroy it. Or reach to scratch his head and make himself bleed.

Tony was just  _furious_ all the time.

Steve and Bucky both had been banned from his lab for the foreseeable future, and when Rhodey had found out about it, it was only Tony telling him  _not to bother_ that kept him from ripping both the soldiers apart.

He had been so angry with both of them, that he hadn't even had to partial shift to roar at them, and Tony had smiled a little, his tail twitching when they had yelled apologies over and over.

Bucky had moved himself out of Steve's room and into the empty bedroom down the hall, unable to even stay in the same space as the Lion shifter anymore. He ate at different times, and even quit running with him in the morning.

Steve had tried to talk to him several times, tried to reassure him  _again_ that he hadn't meant to go so far with Tony, that it had just  _happened_ , but every time he even got close, Bucky's fangs would drop and he'd snarl, so Steve started keeping his distance.

It was going on two weeks later when Tony showed up completely unannounced in Bucky's room, staring down at him irritably as he slept.

Bucky's eyes fluttered open as he became aware of another person in his room then he  _yelped_ and jumped from his bed in shock.“ _Dammit_ Tony.” he gasped. “Dammit, you're stealthy like this.”

“Yes, well.” Tony flashed sharp little fangs at him and Bucky wanted to  _growl_ because who knew Tony would be so sexy with fangs? “I need to be held and I'm not going anywhere near that fucking _feline_ looking like this--” he motioned down his partial cat form in disgust. “so you're up, Wolf boy. You aren't triggered to bond just because I suddenly have a tail so you are the safer option. Scoot over.”

“I really  _really_ think you should wait for Steve.” Bucky folded his arms over his chest and frowned. “I reacted badly enough before, smelling him on you. His Lion will  _lose its mind_ if you walk around smelling like  _me_ because we cuddled a little. That's not fair to him, Tony. I won't do it.”

“It will be fine.” Tony insisted, making a shoo-ing motion with his hands and Bucky shook his head, looking frustrated and sad.

“Tony, you can't choose  _Steve_ , and then come to me because you're mad at him. Or worried that he will want to bond with you. I can't--I can't handle being your back up. I wish I could handle being second, but I  _can't_. And I'm sorry. I want to be there for you, but I can't. Not like this.”

Tony's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. “Are you  _kidding_ me right now? I'm asking you to hold me and you're telling me  _no?”_

“I'm just trying to respect Steve's claim. You guys said you didn't bond, but  _something_ happened, and it's not right for me to hold you now.” Bucky explained and backed up a step. “It's nothing against you, honey, I just can't cross another shifters territory. Especially Steve's. I won't do it.”

Tony made a sound halfway between a yowl and a  _screech_ and jumped at Bucky, pushing him back into the bed and snapping his fangs closed on his ear viciously, growling and shaking his head back and forth until he tasted blood.

The canine shifter froze at the display of dominance, and Tony hissed into his ear. “Steve has no claim over me. I told you  _stupid_ shifters I wanted  _both_ of you, and nothing has changed. You were gone  _one day_ and Steve was here for me. I woke up naked and we got a little handsy. I'm sorry your feelings were hurt but you should have  _listened_ to me when I said we didn't bond.”

He dug his sharp nails into Bucky's chest and the Alpha groaned, unable to help his body from responding to Tony on top of him.

“If  _you_ don't want  _me_ , let me know.” Tony continued. “But otherwise, maybe believe me when I say I want you to hold me. And if you're jealous of what happened between Steve and I, maybe you should do something about it. Maybe get a little handsy with me too instead of  _sulking_ in your room like a whipped little pup--”

Tony shut up abruptly when Bucky flipped them over, off the bed and right onto the floor, knocking the wind out of him.

“Don't try to play  _dominant_ with me.” He growled and Tony's whole body shuddered with desire.  _Dominance_ was a much bigger issue with a canine, and he'd known acting like that would push Bucky's buttons but  _oh fuck._

“Bucky.” Tony's nails scratched into the carpet and he tried to push himself up. “I wasn't done talking.”

“Tell me you want me again.” Bucky demanded, and Tony knew if he said  _no_ Bucky would get off immediately, but he  _didn't_ want that, he didn't want Bucky to stop.

But on the other hand, Tony didn't want to just  _give up_ either, so he pushed harder against the weight on his back. “I wasn't done talking.” he repeated.

“Tony!” Bucky snarled and popped his teeth in warning, his fangs clicking together loudly. “Tell me you want me again.”

 _Almost there_. Tony thought giddily and let out an annoyed growl of his own and struggled even harder.

“ _Fuck_!” He cried out when Bucky's teeth closed over the crook of his neck, not breaking skin, but coming close, and the Wolf pushed closer to the surface, getting heavier against his back, teeth getting longer in his neck, sharpening to points.

“ **Tony**.”

“Want you.” Tony blurted. “Want you,  _want you_ , oh fuck-  _fucking hell_ I want you. Bucky-- Bucky _yes_.”

“Want you too.” Bucky rumbled, and shredded Tony's pants with an easy jerk, tearing the hoodie off as well, running his big hand from the base to the tip of Tony's tail, and the half shifted feline tried to lift his hips into the touch.

Bucky went to his knees behind him, bringing Tony up against him with a rough pull, pushing his head down into the carpet, then growled a little in frustration and snagged a pillow from the bed. “Better. Comfy. Don't want to hurt you.”

Tony gripped the pillow tight, his ears and tail twitching every time Bucky breathed over his skin. The canine shifter was already barely coherent, sex being much less emotional and  _so much more_ physical for his kind, but he still tried to make sure Tony was comfortable and that was so  _completely_ Bucky it nearly brought tears to Tony's eyes.

“Pretty kitty.” Bucky mumbled and started licking and kissing his way down Tony's spine, wrapping the long black tail around his left wrist several times, growling in agreement when Tony arched his back and purred.

He left several sharp bites on that perfect curved ass, fangs scraping the pale skin until Tony was whining, trying to pull away and Bucky forced him still with a big hand to his hips.

“Stay.” He ordered, and Tony dragged in a deep breath, burying his face in the pillow when Bucky parted him, fingers tracing down his cleft, following with his tongue.

“Wanna taste you.” He grunted, and Tony purred loud enough to make his chest feel like it was splitting open.“Stay.” Bucky ordered again, leaned forward to lap at Tony's hole, his fingers tightening when Tony jumped. “Tony!  _Stay_!!”

Tony froze, his fangs cutting into his bottom lip as he fought to stay still.;

Licking carefully around the sensitive skin, so careful to keep his teeth covered, Bucky blew softly against Tony, pressing and flicking his tongue until the beautiful shifter started loosening up for him. He hummed low in praise, slipping inside with little jabs and twists of his tongue, and Tony cried out, rocking his hips back into Bucky's face.

Bringing his left hand around to keep Tony open, minding the tail still wrapped around his wrist, Bucky sucked hard on his fingers and carefully  _carefully_ pushed inside Tony, past the tight ring of his entrance and inside to his heat.

“Oh oh  _oh_ Bucky  _yes.”_ Tony moaned and Bucky lifted his face just long enough to plant a kiss on his lower back.

“Touch yourself.” He instructed and Tony hesitated.

“Claws.” He whimpered.

“ _Touch yourself_.” The Wolf shifter demanded again, and Tony reached down to gingerly grip his own cock, sucking in a quick breath because he was  _already close_ , and Bucky groaned in approval.

“ _Good.”_ Tony gasped and Bucky slipped back inside him then, just one finger thrusting lightly, then two, stretching him open, tongue still working over the rim, warm and  _wet_ against him and Tony started panting, then soft mewling cries, thrusting into his own fist, his claws shredding the pillow under his head.

Bucky loosened his own pants, easing his fingers from inside Tony, and reaching for the lotion on his end table. He spread the lotion all over the curves of Tony's ass, working some between his cheeks, and slotted his heavy cock between them, thrusting lightly.

“ _Shit_.” Tony whimpered and tried to push back into each thrust. “ _Bucky_ \---”

“  _Tony_.” Bucky's voice was barely more than a snarl, the head of his cock catching on Tony's hole every time he moved. It wouldn't take much to just re-position and slide inside that  _fucking_ perfect body, but Bucky gritted his teeth against the urge.

 _“_ _More_.” Tony gasped. “Can't come like this.  _Need_ you.”

“Up.” Bucky hauled Tony up against him, pulling him onto his knees, pressing him to his chest and wrapped his right hand around Tony's cock, jerking it roughly.

Tony dug his nails into Bucky's thighs as he started to spiral towards his edge, and Bucky didn't even care that Tony was drawing blood, just held him even tighter, thrusting even harder against his ass until he was  _close_ , then he growled low in Tony's ear.

“Come for me now, cat.  _Now.”_

Tony's back bowed as his orgasm swept over him, every inch of his body tightening as he cried through it, shouting for Bucky, crying out for the Alpha, hips moving hard against the solid cock pressed to his back.

Before he was even finished, Bucky was pushing him back into the pillows, and it only took a few strokes of Bucky's own hand before the Alpha shifter was coming all over Tony, pulsing all over the soft curves of his ass, dripping down the cleft and slicking against his hole.

“Mine.” Bucky gasped when he could finally breathe again. “Mine  _mine,_ Tony.  _Mine._ So pretty, soft _pretty_ kitty wanna mark you,  _mine.”_  He brought his fingers through the mess, pressing against Tony until he could slip back inside, curling come soaked fingers into the tight passage and Tony cried out and shuddered as his over sensitive body rolled through another wave of heat.

“ _Mine_ , Tony.” Buck repeated, and rubbed some of his release into the red teeth marks on Tony's neck, marking him with both his teeth  _and_ his scent.

“Come to bed with me, stay with me, gonna take care of you. Pretty little thing. Come on, stay with me.” Ignoring the bleeding claw marks, the mess still dripping from Tony's body, Bucky scooped him up and lay on his back on the bed, guiding Tony to straddle his waist and thighs, his head over his chest.

“Thank you.” He pressed Tony even closer against him. “Thank you.  _Thank you_ , Tony, sweet kitty, beautiful little shifter.  _Mine_.  _Thank you.”_

Tony just pressed a kiss to his lips, tucking his head below Bucky's chin and closing his eyes.

 


	8. Chapter 8

“This is… almost disgusting.” Natasha said finally, after several minutes of watching the scene in the kitchen.

“It's adorable.” Clint countered and laid a loud kiss on her cheek. “I mean, who doesn't want to see Tony being loved on like this? The guy deserves the entire world. You gonna be salty because he’s eating  _breakfast_?”

“Hawkeye has a valid argument.” Wanda added, her head resting on Visions chest comfortably. “After all this time, after everything Tony has been through, he deserves to find happiness."

“Really?” Natasha narrowed her eyes. “No ones going to comment on how ridiculous it is that a half shifted  _housecat_ has not only an Alpha Lion shifter but also an Alpha Wolf shifter  _literally_ tripping over themselves to court him. Has them at his beck and call. Steve is feeding Tony  _with his fingers._ ”

“Feeling neglected baby?” Clint teased. “Jealous? I'd feed you like that if you wanted me to.”

Natasha just rolled her eyes and sat back in a huff, watching the unbelievable scene in the kitchen unfold.

Steve  _was_ in fact feeding Tony, tearing off pieces of syrup soaked waffle and offering them to the still partial shifted cat, smiling in delight every time Tony opened his mouth and took a bite, sharp little fangs teasing and scraping over Steve's fingers.

Bucky had his left arm wrapped tight around Tony's waist, keeping him securely on his lap. His right hand was constantly brushing Tony's hair off his ears so he could nuzzle and nip up and down his neck, dotting kisses behind Tony's ear and down his jaw.

Tony was kneading his claws gently into Bucky's thighs, the Wolf shifter not even caring that his jeans were shredding beneath the sharp claws, and Tony's other hand was tucked into Steve's waistband, his thumb rubbing careless circles below Steve's navel, keeping the blond standing right between Tony and Bucky's legs.

Steve kept meticulously feeding Tony perfect sized bites of food, waiting until Tony would smack his lips and open wide before giving him more. Every few bites, he'd lean in and lick and kiss away any stray drops of syrup and Tony would purr and kiss him back, then tilt his head to kiss Bucky. The Wolf shifter growled in delight every time before picking up the milk to give Tony small sips.

Natasha was right.

It was pretty disgusting.

But Tony's whole body was flushed happily, a continuous purr coming from his chest, and he hadn't stopped smiling the entire time.

So really, no one could say anything.

Clint took a few pictures though.

For ~~blackmail~~ science.

*************************

Despite the gag inducing sweetness that had been breakfast, it had been… rough… for several days between the shifters after Tony had gone looking for Bucky and ended up in his bed.

Steve, bless his understanding heart, had tried  _so hard_ not to be jealous when Tony had spent the rest of that day smelling like Bucky, but he had still had to leave the compound for a few hours for a breather.

Bucky, in return, had showered as soon as he could, trying (and hating) to wash as much of Tony's scent from his skin. Then he had gone looking for the Lion shifter, and they had sat in semi-companionable silence for several hours.

Bucky still kept his separate room, and Steve's eyes still shot to gold if he came too close, but things were getting better. They had simply agreed that for Tony's sake they had to put their macho, Alpha shifter posturing bullshit aside, and deal with being close to each other.

Tony's words. Not theirs.

Tony smiled up at the two of them from his desk. Once he had decided they were allowed to be around him again, both the soldiers had taken to sitting and watching him work, just so they could all be in the same space. They didn't usually talk, and they definitely sat on opposite ends of the small couch in his lab, not talking but they weren't growling or snapping at each other, and this was the third or fourth day that they had managed it, so maybe they deserved a little treat.

Besides, after such a lovely breakfast, Tony was feeling forgiving and playful and _flirty,_ so he dropped his tablet onto the desk and let out a long sigh, arching his back and groaning as his muscles stretched.

Steve and Bucky both straightened up and he grinned a little wickedly, his hips swaying and his tail twitching mischievously as he headed towards the couch. Tugging on the ties of his pajama pants casually so they just _happened_ to drop beneath his hip bones, Tony let his long sleeve ride up over his stomach as he walked, treating the Alphas to brief flashes of smooth skin.

Bucky opened his arms first, slouching a little to make room in his lap and beckoning encouragingly, while Steve just held his hand out, palm up, waiting for Tony to reach for him.

“I'm tired.” Tony pouted and stretching his arms above his head and trying not to smile when both of their eyes widened. Dropping his arms and holding out his hands to both of them, he licked his lips, letting his tail flick towards them invitingly. “I need a nap, and since I can't shift down to human, or fully up to a cat, we need to nap like this. Ears and claws and tail and all.”

He was teasing, but Bucky and Steve exchanged uneasy glances and Tony cleared his throat, baring his fangs warningly. “Just to be clear, I want  _both_ of you in my bed, or  _neither_ of you in my bed.”

“Okay, honey, alright.” Bucky said quickly,not about to give up the chance to hold Tony because he wasn't sure if he could be that close to Steve. “We will make it work.”

Steve nodded just as quickly. “Sure thing, sweetheart. We can-- we can do that. We will… manage.”

He and Bucky hadn't shared a bed since Bucky had moved out, and he wasn't sure if they could get right back into it, but maybe with Tony between them it wouldn't be so bad...? Maybe.

“Come on then.” Tony tugged on their hands, heading towards the elevator that only went to his penthouse. “Come with me.” he yawned again, exaggeratedly this time, letting his eyes blink wide and soft at them, knowing the Alpha shifters were helpless against him.

There was more to his feline side besides a tail and ear, after all. Only cat shifters could purr, teasing with their eyes and little fangs and rubbing themselves lazily against their lovers. Cat shifters were notorious for using their charm to get what they wanted, and Tony was excellent at it.

And as he curled his tail sweetly around Steve's wrist, tugged at Bucky's long hair playfully, he knew they would give in.

Of course they would.

Bucky entered the elevator first, pulling Tony up against his chest as soon as he could, eager for some more physical contact, the scene in the kitchen just fueling what was already an overwhelming need to touch Tony all the time, Tony's little display of skin and obvious flirting a clear green light to be held.

Steve tapped the button for the penthouse and crowded close as soon as the doors shut, pressing Tony even further into Bucky, grinding against him from behind and Tony mewled softly, pushing his hips back into Steve in encouragement, rubbing his chest into Bucky's as he let his head fall back in an obvious invitation.

“Tony.” Steve said coaxingly. “Let's play a little.”  and Bucky growled low in his throat, not in warning, but in agreement as the air filled with the sweet scent of Tony's arousal.

Partial shifted like this, Tony couldn't stop the pheromones from pouring off his body. And even though he usually  _hated_ everyone knowing what he was feeling just by _scent_ , in this case he  _loved_ it, so he lifted on his toes to kiss Bucky and groaned when Steve thrust against him lightly, the new angle lining them up perfectly.

“Tony, sweetheart,  _want you.”_ Steve murmured into his ear and Tony wiggled against him excitedly, his tail trying to wrap around Steve's waist to keep him close.

“Want you  _naked.”_ Bucky added, stopping kissing him only long to pull the long sleeve up and over Tony's shoulders, tossing it to a corner of the elevator, and Steve reached behind him and slammed the emergency stop button, the elevator shuddering to a halt.

“Boss, is something wrong? The elevator---oh my.” FRIDAYS voice cut out, sounding almost embarrassed and Tony tried to laugh, but only managed to moan as Bucky dragged thick fingers through his hair and covered his mouth again.

Steve was nearly tearing at Tony's sleep pants as he yanked them down his hips and Tony's moan turned into a shriek when the blond dropped to his knees and started spreading him, fingers and tongue and lips all over him and pressing inside before he could even  _think_.

“Oh fu--  _fuck_.” Tony bit his bottom lip hard, crying out when his fangs punctured it, and Bucky lapped at the blood excitedly, scraping it with his own teeth to taste more, a growl building low in his throat.

Then he started licking and kissing down Tony's chest, sliding down to his knees, and Tony had to throw both hands on the elevator wall to keep from collapsing.

“Oh baby can't wait to taste you.” Bucky sighed and with barely any warning, opened his mouth wide and swallowed Tony's cock as far as he could take it.

“ _Jesus!”_ Tony shouted, and behind him, Steve just moaned, working a second finger deep inside him, his tongue never stopping twisting and curling against him and Tony's vision started blurring from the sheer overload of sensation. Bucky was stroking him, hollowing his cheeks and sucking  _hard,_ slurping up and down his length, humming when Tony pressed into his throat, the vibrations nearly making Tony crazy.

“ _I'm already gonna come, already gonna come you guys are killing me oh my god oh my god oh my---_ -” Tony was babbling incoherently as he was worked from both sides, Steve stroking over a spot deep inside him that had him seeing stars, and Bucky had taken every inch of him into his mouth and  _oh it was so fucking good and_ \--

“--- we love you Tony.” Steve's words were muffled but Tony heard them anyway and it sent him right to the edge and over.

His whole body locked tight as he came, clenching tight around Steve's pumping fingers, pulsing down Bucky's throat, and both the Alpha shifters purred and rumbled contentedly through it, Steve dotting little kisses over his lower back and ass, Bucky swallowing everything Tony gave him, licking and lapping over his cock to get every drop.

They eased off him carefully, and Steve's arms snapped around Tony's waist to catch him when his knees gave out, lowering him gently to the elevator floor.

“Tony, baby that was  _beautiful_ but--”

“Tony could we---”

“Would you  _please_ let us--”

“Oh my god. We need you, sweetheart--”

“Yes.  _Yes.”_ Tony nodded quickly, eagerly, and got up into his knees, tilting his head back to look up at them and licking at his lips until they were wet and shiny. “Whatever you need. Whatever you need. Come on. Give it to me.”

 

“Oh  _honey_.”

“Oh goddamnit.”

“Look at you, you're  _perfect.”_

“So good like this--”

Steve jumped back to his feet, opening his pants and stroking himself quickly, and Bucky joined him, both of them staring down at the beautiful shifter, all that perfect creamy skin, still flushed and heated, the soft ears and long tail and  _oh_ Tony's eyes, the way he watched them, the way he couldn't decide which one to look at like they were  _both_ everything he ever wanted and--

“Oh. Oh  _shit_.” Bucky gasped. “Open your mouth, for me baby, come on, open wide.”

Tony obeyed instantly, opening as wide as he could, little fangs glinting over a red tongue and Bucky came hard, spilling his release all over Tony's lips and into his waiting mouth.

Tony just whined and opened wider, turning enough to meet Steve's eyes, making a beckoning motion with his fingers and Steve dropped his head back and  _shouted_ , painting Tony's face with thick streaks of white as his orgasm washed over him.

“Holy shit.”

“Oh my god, Tony, I can't--”

“Oh that was the most beautiful-”

“You are so amazing and--”

“Oh honey, you like the way we taste?”

“Yeah baby, look at you, your sweet little tongue.”

“God, love those pretty fangs.”

“Man, I just can't handle the way you lick your lips like that.”

Tony cleaned his face as best he could, licking his lips and fingers clean with soft little trilling noises and the Alpha shifters fell to their knees beside him, gently pushing him back to lay on the floor, covering him with soft kisses.

Bucky grabbed the torn pants and balled them up under his head for a pillow, and Steve wiped as much of himself of Tony's face as he could, massaging it into Tony's chest, kissing and nuzzling into Tony's neck as he did.

Bucky did the same, running a hand down himself to collect as much as he could and pressing it into the soft skin of Tony's hips, nipping and licking at Tony's face, over his jawline and down the other side of his neck.

“You guys are gross, needing to rub that into me.” Tony huffed, but closed his eyes and stretched his arms above his head, letting them do whatever they needed, smiling when they scooted closer to him, intertwining all their legs, big shoulders brushing as they tried to share Tony beneath them.

“I love you too, you know, both of you.” Tony said after several minutes, and the Alphas sighed happily, whispering soft, sweet things into his ears, never stopping touching him. “And this was...  _amazing_ and definitely what I needed because I've been so stressed out lately. But I also still need a nap, so we need to get this elevator moving again. And I  _definitely_ need a shower after that so--”

“NO!!” Steve and Bucky shouted, and Tony jumped in surprise.

 

“No shower.”

“You smell like  _us_.”

“It's so good.”

“ _So_ good.”

“Just want to scent you a little, sweetheart.”

“Play some more.”

“Just a little longer like this.”

“Just a little longer, honey, let us touch you like this.”

“I love you, Tony.”

“I love you Tony.”

 

Bucky took a deep breath and glanced over at Steve before settling his body more firmly against the blonde.

Steve didn't even look up from Tony, just rubbed their shoulders together and wound one foot through Bucky's legs.

Tony didn't say anything, just smiled and pulled them a little closer to him.

This was going to be fucking  _perfect_.

 


	9. Chapter 9

It was going on three weeks now of Tony being stuck in a partial shift and he was  _tired of it._

The longer he was in a half-cat state the more he struggled to talk normally, to have regular sleep cycles, and even to control his emotions. He had Steve and Bucky at the ready at all times to drop what they were doing and hold him, but it was  _really_ starting to wear on him.

Conversations were getting harder, Tony was spending more and more time asleep and then waking up in tears because he needed to work, and even though he never called it their fault again--

\--it was very much their fault, and they felt terrible.

Bucky wasn't expecting to find Rhodes in the lab when he went looking for Tony to see if they could spend some  ~~naked~~ time together, but there the colonel was, passed out on the couch with Tony dead asleep next to him, their arms wrapped right around each other, Tony's head buried in Rhodey's chest.

“Hey did you find--  _oh_.” Steve pulled up short next to him. “Those two are just  _friends_ , right?”

“Right.” Bucky nodded slowly, and motioned Steve back several feet so they wouldn't disturb the nap. “Pretty sure. I mean, I'm pretty sure that they-- yeah. They're just friends. I think.”

“And they sleep together?” Steve raised his eyebrows. “Like  _that?”_

“You know Tony needs the extra sleep right now.” Bucky countered. “Besides, Rhodes says they used to share a bed in MIT all the time. Felines need extra cuddles, you know?”

“But… platonic, right?”

“I guess so.” Bucky cleared his throat a little uncomfortably. “I understand wanting someone in your bed for physical comfort. Like we used to, right? Whether its...platonic? Or-- or not.”

“Yeah.” Steve looked down at the floor, then out the window- anywhere to avoid Bucky's eyes. Then, “I miss you, Bucky.” he blurted. “I miss…  _you_. You moved out of our room, and now we can hardly be around each other without Tony there, and I hate that. It's like we're barely even friends anymore and I  _hate_ that.”

“I miss you too.” Bucky admitted. “You're my best friend, Steve. As great as things are with Tony, this isn't easy on me to not have you all the time too.”

“You're my best friend too.” Steve said quietly. “But weren't we… weren't we trying for more than that?”

Silence, for long enough that Steve started thinking that he had said something terribly wrong.

“Yeah. Yeah we were.” Bucky wasn't looking at him when he finally spoke again. “Ain't easy, not being able to be around my best friend cause our animals are too territorial. We’ve got to figure out a way to deal with that so we don't lose Tony.”

“I don't want lose  _us_ either, Buck. Of course Tony is everything to me but… so are you. Don't want to lose that because our shifts can't deal.” Bucky grunted in agreement. “So can we try it all again?” Steve pressed. “Sharing a bed? Sleeping in the same room at least? These last few times with Tony have been… good, and I know we've been trying to get closer but--”

“Yeah.” Bucky interrupted. “I mean, having Tony between us is--”

“Right. But you and I--”

“We should try--”

They each took a deep breath, then laughed at each other's sheepish expression.

“Will you come back to our room tonight?” Steve finally asked. “We don't have to try the bed thing, but maybe just sleeping in the same space.”

“Will your Lion let me? You're awfully quick to shift anytime we get close.” Bucky said uneasily. “The last thing anyone needs is us destroying a room because we can't handle being around each other.”

“I will  _try_ _to let you_ _._ ” Steve nodded. “I want this, I want… whatever  _this_ is. Whatever it  _will_ be with Tony, and you might have to help corral my Lion a little bit, but---”

Bucky was smiling then, reaching out to place his left hand on the back of Steve's neck, pulling him forward until their foreheads touched, and Steve shivered at the cool metal on his skin. “This alright?” Bucky asked cautiously. “Let me know if your Lion can't handle it.”

“More.” Steve said softly, even as his eyes shaded to gold and his voice deepened.

“Yeah?” Bucky flexed his fingers, the gears in his arm re-calibrating his hold to pull Steve closer, and then closer again until their chests were nearly touching. “Alright?”

Steve made a noise that was almost a purr, his hands coming up to grip Bucky's waist. “I've missed you.” He mumbled. “I know we've never really done anything, but I miss you.”

Bucky wrapped his right arm around Steve's shoulders, pressing tighter against his forehead, their noses brushing each other. “We can do this.” Bucky breathed. “Just like this, huh?” Steve nodded and Bucky closed his eyes. “Can I have more?” Another quick nod, and Bucky started nosing over Steve's face gently until the blonde tilted his head up and their lips almost met.

“Can't go back from this.” Steve said slowly, his fingers tracing circles into Bucky's side. “This will change us  _and_ our bond with Tony.”

“It'll be alright.” Bucky murmured. “I want this too. Not gonna let you get away from me.”

“Not gonna let  _you_ get away from  _me.”_ Steve retorted, and Bucky's fangs dropped in response to the growl from the Lion.

“Not a dominance contest.” He warned. “Not between us. Not over Tony. Chill out.”

“I know.” Steve's eyes were melting gold, hot and eager. “I still kinda want to fight you. Pin you to the bed.”

Bucky growled a little louder when Steve pushed into him, forcing him back a step into a desk. “Easy,  _easy_ , we can't do this in the lab.” But his eyes lit as his Wolf stirred, glowing electric blue. “Want to pin you too, on the floor, make you  _submit_.”

“You'll have to fight me for that.” Steve whispered. “Not gonna let you take me without a fight.”

“ _Alpha.”_ Bucky whispered the word and Steve's whole body reacted instantly, a jolt of arousal nearly pushing him into a partial shift right there.

“ _Alpha.”_ Steve returned, and the word came as a snarl as he closed the bit of distance between their lips to kiss him, to bite at his lips, to thrust his tongue greedily into Bucky's mouth, fingers sharpening to claws and digging into Bucky's waist.

The Wolf shifter rocked into him, grinding their hips together, and Steve muffled a curse with a hard kiss, a whine building in his throat because  _fuck_ he’d never even thought about how big Bucky was but now they were shoved together and he could feel Bucky thick against his thigh and... and... _damn_.

“Easy…” Bucky murmured and loosened his hold on Steve's neck. “Come out of your shift, we still need to focus on Tony. Come on. Don't want to stop  _this_ , but we can't do it right now. Focus on Tony.”

“Tony.” Steve agreed and closed his eyes, visibly making an attempt at pulling his Lion back. “Thank you.” he said.

Bucky just bumped their foreheads together comfortingly.“I got you.” They stayed close for another moment, letting their animals get used to the shared space, letting themselves soak up the  _comfort_ that always came with each other, and now the  _new_ that was sparking between them.

“You two done over there? Or do I have to keep pretending to be asleep?” Rhodey asked from the couch without opening his eyes, and Tony started laughing, his tail twitching in merriment.

“Thought you punks were out.” Bucky growled and Tony just laughed harder.

“ _Dammit_.” Steve muttered self consciously. “Course they were awake for that.”

Bucky brushed a short kiss over his lips.“Stevie. We alright?”

“Yeah.” Steve nodded and Bucky smiled at him, before linking their hands and pulling him towards the couch.

“Looks like your boys more than made up.” Rhodes teased and Tony buried his face further to hide his grin.

“Like it. My boys playing well together.” Tony mumbled into Rhodey's shoulder. “Bout damn time.”

The Colonel laughed up at the soldiers.“Yeah, I hear you two are pretty whipped. I definitely got a picture from Barton that involved you guys feeding Tony his breakfast. Big scary Alpha shifters, aren't you?”

Steve started to protest but Bucky silenced him with a quick look, and they both just shrugged.“Call it whatever you want.” Steve amended. “As long as Tony's happy.”

“Oh my god, I can  _hear_ the whip being cracked.” Rhodey shouted with laughter and Tony dug his claws into his chest in annoyance.

“Don't tease.” Tony whined. “I need lots...today and I want them, um, good mood.” he cursed in frustration over the halting speech, and Rhodey petted his hair soothingly.

Bucky and Steve exchanged guilty glances as they heard Tony struggling to put sentences together. The longer he was partial shifted, the worse his speech got, the more frustrated he became. It was getting hard to understand him, and they each murmured soft, comforting things towards him.

“Well, I'm going to leave for the part where you three play together. After that little scene in the corner, I feel like this can only get worse from here.” Rhodes started untangling himself from Tony, who whined dramatically.

“But  _honeybear!!”_

“He's a whole ball of needy today.” Rhodes clapped them on their shoulders as he passed. “Have fun with that.”

Tony sat up grumpily, scratching behind one of his black ears. “  _So sick_ of being partial. S _omebody_ better get over here and hold me.”

“Such high maintenance.” Bucky teased and Tony flattened his ears to hiss at him. “Scary kitty. Vicious.”

“Don't be mad, sweetheart.” Steve lifted Tony into his arms like he didn't weigh anything. “Let's get upstairs and lay down and get you feeling better, huh? Nice long nap?”

“Wanna take the elevator?” Bucky asked with a wicked smile, trying to make up for his earlier comment. “On the way up to the nap?”

Tony wiggled happily in Steve's arms. “ _Yes.”_

_*******************_

*******************

It had been Clint's idea for Steve and Bucky to shift fully into their animals and spend some down time with Tony.

He had explained that when Natasha had a hard time shifting down from her dragon, if he let his Hawk free, then shifted slowly back into partial and back into human it could ease the way for her to complete the steps as well.

No one really understood the science behind shifting, or why it was easier for some and harder for others, but it sounded like a valid idea, and both the Alpha shifters were ready to try  _anything_ at this point.

So right now Tony was curled up on his floor, one hand buried in the thick hair of the Lion's mane, the other running absentmindedly through the Wolfs silver fur, and both the big shifters were growling and rumbling comfortingly.

“I like this.” Tony announced, speaking slowly so he could think about and enunciate every word. “Like having giant pets. Giant breathing pillows. Huge bed that will...take…me wherever I want to go.”

Too content just being touched by their almost-mate, neither the Lion or the Wolf even twitched, just sighed a little and closed their eyes. They felt  _awful_ every time Tony couldn't find the word he needed, and were willing to do  _anything_ to bring him out of his partial, even if it meant shifting to and from their animals over and over for days.

“Can we talk, like this?” Tony said then, and tightened his hold on them. “Because I--I want both of you. And now I know you both want me… I want to bond with each of you. Both of you.” The words were coming slowly, with difficulty, and Tony closed his eyes in frustration. “You guys…get it?”

Bucky's head lifted and he whined a little, glancing at the Lion, who made a huffing noise, pressing his big nose into Tony's leg.

“I don't know exactly how that would... work, but I want to try.” Tony continued. “I just can't...while partial… no good. Need to be Tony, not cat. Get everything working again.” He sighed. “Need to be _human_ again. Yeah?”

Steve grumbled and flopped his big head back down and Tony laughed, scratching behind his ears and kissing his head. Bucky barked softly and Tony gave him the same treatment, landing a soft kiss on his muzzle.

“Sleep now, huh? Maybe a miracle…wake up human again.”

He stretched out in the middle of them on a big pile of pillows and blankets, and both the shifters scooted as close as they could without crushing him, nosing over his neck and chest with soft breaths until he pushed them away with a laugh.

Tony flopped over onto his stomach, tucking his tail close to his legs, sharp claws against pillows so he wouldn't accidentally scratch himself, and closed his eyes.

After he was asleep, Bucky lifted his head and stared at Steve.

_Our mate._

It was less of a thought Bucky sent into the air and more of a  _feeling_ and the Lions gold eyes shimmered as he felt it in his mind.

_Tony. Ours._

********************

The furious screaming of an animal in pain had Natasha and Clint both racing for Tony's room, Vision taking off and simply phasing through the floors in between the common area and the penthouse.

“Tony! Tony!!” Clint broke the door down, and he and Tasha ran in as Vision came through the floor, Natasha bursting into a partial shift, ready to tear someone apart for trying to hurt Tony.

But--but--nothing was wrong.

Unless you counted the two Alpha shifters still in animal form, curled protectively around a tiny black cat, who was screeching at the top of his lungs as the Lion licked all the way up it's back, leaving every piece of fur sticking up the wrong way.

The Wolf was snuffling and huffing over the messed up hair then, licking it down the other way.

“They're… they're grooming him.” Natasha actually had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't scream with laughter at the ridiculous picture the three shifters made.

“We should just be glad Tony is able to move between his shifted forms once again. He will be pleased to be human again.” Vision allowed himself a small smile before disappearing back downstairs.

It took Clint a full three minutes to get himself off the floor and back under control so he could pull his phone out and snap a picture.

For  ~~blackmail~~  science.

Grooming habits of Alpha shifters and their house cats.

Definitely science.

*******************

That night, Bucky and Steve lay in separate beds in their room, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about Tony, trying to keep their minds from straying to what had happened between them earlier.

“I'm so glad Tony was able to shift again.” Steve finally said, feeling like Tony was a safe topic, a good segue into what they really wanted to talk about. “A real relief, you know?”

Bucky nodded. “I was starting to get worried about him. So stupid of us, setting him off like that. Getting out of control like that.”

“I'm sorry.” Steve muttered. “I'm sorry about what happened with Tony and me, Buck. I swear. I swear I didn't mean for it to go that far, and once it did I couldn't stop myself. Didn't want to stop myself. I didn't think until later how you would feel about--”

“Don't.” Bucky shook his head. “It's fine, it's over, we're fine.”

“Are we?” Steve asked, clearing his throat before plunging right over the edge into The Talk. “Because you are lying _awfully_ far away from me.”

Bucky made a soft, hopeful noise and when he sat up to look over at him, Steve nodded quickly, just once, moving over in the bed to make room.

Bucky came over slowly, giving Steve's Lion plenty of time to adjust to his proximity as he slid between the sheets, and up against Steve's body.

“Alright?” he kept asking. “You alright, Stevie? We good?”

“I'm fine.” Steve assured him, but he was stiff as a board, trying to keep his instincts at bay. He had  _such a hard time_ with being close to the canine shifter, and he hated it. But biology was too hard to ignore, and a growl started working through his throat, his nails lengthening to claws that dug into Bucky's side.

“What can I do to make this easier?” Bucky asked cautiously. “Tell me how I can help.”

“Just… slow.” Steve grit out. “Give me a minute.”

“As much time as you need.” Bucky assured him, and settled down to wait.

“Come here.” Steve reached for him after a moment. “Can you just…I need--” Bucky ducked his head in a submission pose and Steve's eyes started turning gold. “No, no, no don't  _submit_ , I need you to make me-- take the choice out of my hands.”

 _Oh_.

Bucky shifted, sniffed at Steve's neck lightly, then snapped his teeth shut over the crook of Steve's neck, growling low and tugging lightly on the muscle until Steve went limp, curling into Bucky's chest and rumbling in relief.

“Better?” Bucky ran his hand through Steve's hair, smoothed down his back. “Alright?”

“Thanks.” Steve forced a breath out. “Got to force the Lion back sometimes. Too quick to shift.”

“I got you.” Bucky comforted. “You good?”

“Yeah.” Steve signed and relaxed every further his arms looping around Bucky's waist and drawing him closer. “Missed this.”

Bucky placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “Me too.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

Tony was back in human form and he was  _thrilled._ After his nap that day with Steve and Bucky, he had woken up human and had wasted no time running through the Tower, poking his head into every room and _shouting_ that he was back to normal again.

Miffed at missing a chance to play naked with him together, Bucky and Steve had tried to coax him back to bed, but Tony wasn't having _any_ of it. Thanks to his partial shift, he hadn't left the tower in almost a month, and he yelled for everyone to get dressed because they were all going out tonight.

Mandatory team fun night.

Mandatory alcohol.

Mandatory partying.

So here they were, posted up in some random night club, having to yell to be heard over the pounding music, throwing back the drinks that just kept on coming, because with Tony Stark starting a tab, the bartender was not about to let them run out.

Natasha and Clint were tearing up the dance floor, Natasha's shockingly short, shockingly sequined dress catching and reflecting the light from the spotlights, Clint grinning as he spun her in a circle. Vision and Wanda were dancing more discreetly in a back corner, Wanda's dress just as short, but not near as eye catching as Natasha's, content to dance slowly with her love in the dark where their hands could roam.

Rhodey was posted up at the bar next to Tony, getting him drinks and snacks, just happy his best friend was _himself_ again. Tony shrieked with laughter over everything, ordered shots for the whole club at least once an hour, and spent way too much time trying and failing to toss olives and cherries into the air and catch them in his mouth.

He was having a _blast_ , and Bucky and Steve watched it all happen from a nearby booth, holding hands under the table and staring at their almost-mate.

“He's so beautiful.” Steve murmured. “Look how happy he is.”

“I know.” Bucky replied. “Every _shape_ of him is beautiful. Fully shifted, only partial with those perfect ears and long tail. Or like this, fully human and fully happy. He's practically a work of art.”

Good god.” Steve laughed a little and shook his head in mock annoyance. “I always forget how romantic you are with your partners. You still read all those pick up line flyers?”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “Careful Stevie, gonna start sounding jealous here in second.”

“Not jealous.” Steve snorted.

“You sure?” Bucky smirked at him. “Because if you were, I could manage to send a whole lotta sweet talk your way. But only if you were jealous.”

“Is that right?” Steve said idly, picking at the wrapper of his beer so he wouldn't have to look up and see that Bucky was only teasing.

In the few days since they had started sharing a bed, nothing had progressed past light kisses and holding each other. Mostly because his Lion still tried to come forward if Bucky moved too fast, but also because this was  _new_ and a little awkward, and neither one really knew what to do with each other.

Steve had tried to make a move a few times, but the moment was never quite right, or someone interrupted them and Bucky didn't seem to notice either way, the Wolf shifter apparently content to just be...whatever they were.

Which was...fine. It was fine.

But  _then_ Bucky's left hand landed so high on his thigh that Steve nearly bit his tongue off, barely managing to keep his cool as Bucky traced circles into his leg, steadily climbing higher towards his crotch.

“Bucky.” He gasped, trying to cover it with a cough. “What are you doing?”

Bucky's lip twitched in a tiny smile. “How do you want me to sweet talk you, Stevie? You want me to call you beautiful?” He asked, his voice was low, his usually non-existent Brooklyn accent rolling in  _thick_. “Want me to call you sweetheart? Gorgeous?  _Baby doll_? You're my fella, aren't ya? I should be able to call you  _something_.”

“Good Christ.” Steve let go of his beer so it wouldn't shatter in his hand. “Um-- we should-- Jesus, you shouldn't--”

Bucky grinned. “Who knew an annoying Brooklyn accent was all it would take to fluster Captain America?” He was back to speaking normally, teasing, and Steve flushed a little.

“S’alright Cap.” He drawled. “All you gotta do is snap orders while wearing that tight little spangled outfit and I'm  _yours_. That's why I wanted you to keep it, back in the day. Showed off that all-American-ass.”

Bucky was trying to sound serious, but Steve cracked up laughing over the _spangled outfit_ and he couldn't help joining in, both of them relieved the tension had been broken. Bucky moved his hand back down to Steve's knee and squeezed lightly, and Steve shifted just enough so their legs touched.

“Alright, Stevie?”

“Yeah, Buck. This is good.”

“My two favorite boys!” Tony joined their booth, sliding close to Steve's side. “Love to see you smiling together. Share the joke?” he pushed his bottom lip out in a faux pout. “Or am I left out of Alpha Shifter jokes? That doesn't seem fair at all!”

Steve laughed down at him. “Feeling left out, sweetheart?”

“Maybe a little.” Tony confessed, snuggling even closer. “I know I said I wanted out of the Tower, but I didn't mean that I wanted away from _you_ guys.”

“Come on over here then.” Bucky said with a jerk of his head, and Steve grabbed Tony around the waist and placed him right in between himself and Bucky. “Better, sugar?” Bucky placed a gentle kiss on Tony's lips, then nudged him towards Steve for the same treatment.

“Oh this is much better.” Tony hummed into the kiss with Steve, keeping his head tilted up until Steve kissed him a second time.

“You guys alright?” Tony wanted to know. “You figure… everything out? Are we going to be okay?” His eyes were soft and concerned and Bucky tossed Steve a bothered look over Tony's head.

They still felt guilty for how much their fight had messed with Tony's head and heart, and obviously his body since he hadn't been able to pull from a partial shift for an entire month. And now he was still stressed out over them, and that-- that just wasn't right.

“Yeah, we figured everything out.” Steve was quick to assure. “We are all just fine, nothings gonna go wrong anymore. Don't worry, honey. The three of us-- we are just fine.”

“Thank god.” Tony breathed a sigh of relief and slouched in the booth, yawning a little as the late hour caught up with him. “I just… want to be with both of you, you know?”

“We want to be with you too, Tony.” Bucky nuzzled against him, nibbling at Tony's earlobe. “Believe me. We can't wait to be with you.”

“Yeah, sweetheart we can't wait to bond with you.” Steve agreed, lifting Tony's palm to his lips.

“Well now that I'm human.” Tony said with a sparkle in his eye, preening over the attention from the shifters. “That can happen sooner rather than  _later,_ _can't it.”_

Steve opened his mouth to respond, Bucky right behind him, both of them more than ready to toss the cute shifter over their shoulder and cave-man carry him back to the Tower to get down to bonding right now--

\--but Rhodey appeared at their table just then, holding a brightly colored mixed drink. “Tones. Last drink of the night alright? This one, and then you are going home.”

“Yes Mother Hen.” Tony huffed and took a careful sip of the cocktail. “Ah, Honeybear you make these  _perfect!_ _I almost forgot how much I love them!”_

“What is it?” Bucky wanted to know, leaning in closer, taking a whiff of the drink.

“Extremely alcoholic.” Steve replied dryly, wrinkling his nose at the strong smell. “That's probably all we need to know.”

“Tell them.” Tony said with a little grin, taking another sip and sighing in satisfaction. “Tell them the story.”

“So back in college,” Rhodey began. “I used to bar tend on the weekends for extra money.  _This_ damn kid used to sneak in with his fake ID and get smashed out of his mind and flirt with anybody who walked past him. He was just… shameless.”

“You made him drinks, knowing he was underage?” Steve asked, disapprovingly. “Colonel, I'm surprised.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Calm down, Captain. Underage drinking was the  _least_ worrying of all the crap Tony got up to in MIT. Trust me . One time he actually---”

“Ugh. Stop being such a tattle-tale and tell the  _fun_ part of the story.” Tony whined. “If you get me in trouble with Steve he won't kiss me anymore and then I'll be irritable! Do you want me to be irritable?”

“Of course not, Tony.” he sighed out loud. “Alright. So anyway,,one night we were testing cocktails, trying to come up with something new to promote at the bar. Tony and I and came up with this little number. It is basically a gin gimlet, but it's Brockmans gin, Tempus Fugit Liquer de Violettes, lime juice, mint syrup, Aperol, and orange bitters.”

He leaned over the table and jammed a line wedge on the edge of the glass. “With a mandatory lime wedge, because Tony likes to suck on them.”

“Damn straight.” Tony muttered.

“Tony here used to get all the pretty boys and girls to buy him a drink, order this monstrosity from me, and turn with this ridiculously flirty smile and say ‘It's called a Smitten Kitten. They named it for me’.” Rhodey finished with a less than impressed sigh. “Tony thought it was hysterical.”

Tony clapped his hands excitedly. “Because they didn't know I was  _actually_ a cat!” He dissolved into giggles. “They had no idea!”

Rhodey smiled down at him fondly. “Anyway, it's always his drink to end the night, because shortly after, he gets some pretty boy to take him home. Or pretty  _boys_ , in this case. Either way,  my job is done. I'll leave him in your hands. Take care of him.”

“Thanks Colonel.”

“See you later."

“Good night Honeybear!” Tony called, and burst out laughing again.

“Smitten Kitten, hm?” Steve asked, relaxing back into the booth and spreading his legs so they pushed against Tony's.

“Sounds sweet.” Bucky added, his eyes twinkling, and Steve winked at him.

“Maybe has a bite to it?”

“Sure looks pretty though, don't it?”

“Oh, I think I want one every night.”

“Sounds like something to enjoy  _often_.”

“Often and slowly. Savor it.”

“I bet that lime is the perfect topper.”

“Sweet and sour.”

“Could suck on that for a while.”

“I could nibble on that  _all_ night.”

Tony squirmed in his seat as their voices deepened, but both the Alpha shifters kept talking like he wasn't there.

“Would love to get a Smitten Kitten in my mouth.”

“God, that  _taste.”_

“Perfectly smooth going down my throat.”

“Would need at least two to get me through the night.”

“Oh, I bet we could drink three.”

“We should give it a try.”

“Share one.”

“Can we both have a Smitten Kitten at the same time?”

“Oh, we could make it work.”

“Need to use my tongue, get every drop.”

“You take one side, I'll take the other, we could finish it no problem.”

Steve's eyes were glowing now, and a low rumble was coming from Bucky's chest. Tony's hand was shaking on the glass as he took another little drink. “You guys um… want a taste?”

“Oh no, Tony.” Steve rasped in his ear. “We want the whole damn thing.”

“Every last bit.” Bucky's tongue flicked out against his neck.

“You gonna come play, little smitten thing?” Steve asked, working his hand under the silk shirt Tony was wearing.

“Here kitty kitty kitty.” Bucky growled, and Tony slammed the rest of his drink and started hollering for Happy to pull the limo around.

***********************

“I don't understand why I always have to be completely naked for this, and you guys get to stay clothed.” Tony huffed as Steve ripped his shirt open, scattering buttons across the floor of the limo.

“How are we supposed to get our hands and mouth all over you if you're wearing clothes?” Bucky argued back, holding Tony steady with one hand, his left hand jerking the tight pants down to his ankles, balancing him so he could step out of them.

“Oh, god, see isn't this better?” Steve sighed, and pushed Tony back onto Bucky's lap, carefully hooking his legs over Bucky's knees so Tony was spread wide open in front of him.

“You guys….” Tony tried to protest a little, just because he felt like he shouldn't just outright agree to _everything_. Playing hard to get was important right?

Right?

Well, it seemed less important when Bucky shifted down lower on the seat, pushing Tony's legs even wider apart, his already hard cock digging into Tony's ass.

_Oh god, not important at all._

“Sweet thing.” Bucky moaned, thrusting up into Tony, his right hand circling the pretty shifter's throat, easing his head back against his shoulder. “See, you are lovely like this.”

“Perfect.” Steve agreed and moved up to kneel between their knees, running his hands in soothing strokes up and down Tony's thighs before leaning into to kiss him. “Tony, you are  _perfect_.”

This close, Steve's face brushed Bucky's jaw as he kissed Tony, and the Wolf shifter sighed a little, turning his head to nuzzle against Steve's cheek.

Tony whined into the kiss, against the angle his read was resting at, and Bucky's hand tightened around his neck, keeping him still.

“Just let us take care of you, honey. Stay still and let us do everything.” He instructed quietly, and Steve lifted his lips from Tony's to brush them against Bucky's slowly, cautiously, testing the moment between them.

Bucky made a soft hum of encouragement and Steve deepened the kiss, letting their tongues slip and twist together, pressing closer between Tony's legs until their mate made a strangled noise as Steve ended up leaning into his cock.

“Sorry, baby,” Steve murmured. “Got a little carried away. Didn't forget about you.” He switched back to kissing Tony, and Bucky let his hand slip from Tony's throat to slide down his chest.

“I like to see you guys kiss.” Tony mumbled against Steve's mouth. “Like to see my Alphas together.” Both the shifters rumbled lightly in agreement, growling in pride over being called _Tony's_ Alphas.

“Do you like your tits played with, sugar?” Bucky asked, and Tony could only give a little cry against Steve's mouth, blushing because Bucky had said  _tits_ as the Wolf shifter slowly circled, then pinched over a soft pink nipple.

“Oh, look how hard they're getting.” he said approvingly. “You  _do_ like that. Is the other one just as sensitive?” Bucky purposefully kept his voice low, let his accent drop in the tiniest bit, and from the way Tony was squirming on his lap, arching into every touch, he  _loved_ it.

“Yeah, you know you're pretty don't you?” Bucky smiled. “We’ll let you dress up for us some time, hm? Something pretty and lacy that make these--” he squeezed Tony's chest. “--look so good.”

Steve moaned softly at the idea of Tony in  _lace,_ as he worked his way down Tony's neck, licking and nibbling sharp little bites, his tongue flicking to sooth the red marks left by Bucky's hand, moving lower until he could suck a hard bruise into the curve where shoulder met neck, where they would each place their bonding bite to seal Tony as  _theirs_.

The thought of _bonding_ pushed a snarl into his throat and Bucky growled low in agreement, still whispering soft things into Tony's ear, his fingers still kneading and plucking over Tony, until the pretty shifter was trying to scoot away, twisting away from the stimulation.

“Steve.” Bucky said quietly, “Come here.” When Steve looked up, Bucky wound his left hand through the short blond hair and tugged, dropping a light kiss to his lips, then pushing firmly until Steve scooted back far enough to seal his mouth over Tony's chest, his tongue soothing the stinging skin, lips suckling enough to make Tony squeal.

“Oh!  _Oh_!” Tony's back arched and Bucky kissed his cheek, holding Steve tighter as the blonde let his teeth scrape over delicate skin until Tony shrieked, then he pulled harder with his mouth, switching sides so nothing was neglected, until Tony was flushed and pink and wet from his tongue.

“If one of you doesn't touch me right now--!” Tony started to complain, but shut up when Steve reached up and fed two fingers into his open mouth.

“Suck.” Bucky demanded, and Tony's started working his tongue over and around the fingers, nearly drooling trying to get them as wet as possible.

“God, look at him.” Bucky said approvingly. “Look at his mouth wrapped around you, Steve. So pretty.”

“So pretty.” Steve agreed. “Can't wait to take your mouth, Tony. Can't wait to have those perfect, plump lips wrapped around my cock.”

“Oh god, I can't wait to  _watch_.” Bucky moaned, and Steve's eyes shaded to gold. “Can you take all of him in your mouth, Tony, you perfect, pretty thing?”

Tony  _mmhmmmed_ around Steve's fingers. “Such a good boy.” Steve murmured and Tony's eyes closed, the comment usually something that would make him cringe, but  _oh_ , no not like  _this_.

“He likes that. Say it again.”

“You’re a good boy, Tony.” Steve repeated and Tony's whole body flushed in happiness.

“So pretty when you blush.” Bucky panted into his ear, then the cool metal of his left hand finally wrapped around his cock, and Tony jumped, biting down hard, making Steve swear.

“Easy!” he snapped. “Teeth!”and Tony tried to apologize, but now Steve was thrusting his fingers in and out of his mouth and all Tony could do was hum and slurp around them.

“A little teeth won't hurt anyone.” Bucky comforted Tony, and the hand that was still in Steve's hair tugged sharply. “Don't you talk to him like that. He can't help that I startled him.”

Steve's eyes flashed in warning, and Bucky's grip tightened until the Lion shifter shivered a little and nodded. “Sorry, Tony. Our perfect little shifter, you are doing wonderful.”

“Better.” Bucky grunted, watching Steve carefully until he had calmed down, dropping his head a little in deference and Bucky had to swallow the urge to  _howl._

Submission from the Lion was something he didn't realize he wanted but  _fuck_ it certainly was now.

Breaking his stare down with Steve, Bucky started stroking Tony's cock slowly, mindful of his grip, keeping his touch feather light. The cold metal against heated flesh was making Tony crazy, and when Steve started mouthing down his chest to his stomach, and licking over the tip of his cock, Tony started crying out around the fingers in his mouth.

“Yeah, baby, this is where it gets fun.” Bucky grinned and let go of Tony's cock, sliding his hand under Tony's thigh and teasing around his hole lightly.

Steve pulled his dripping fingers from Tony's mouth, and stroked gently over his perineum before pushing inside him with one quick thrust.

“Fuck!” Tony nearly came off Bucky's lap at the intrusion, his body stretching open before he was ready. “  _Fuck_ , slow down!"

“You can take it.” Bucky calmed him. “You’re  _so_ good, honey, you can take it. Just relax and breathe and--”

“ _\---goddamnit_.” Tony dropped his head back onto Bucky's shoulder when Steve's fingers started moving inside him.

“Alright?” Steve asked quietly, and Tony was already nodding, already trying to push back against his hand and Steve hummed in approval. “Good boy, such a pretty perfect thing. Give us a safeword, huh?”

“Oh, Stevie, perfect.” Bucky nodded at the suggestion. “Tony, give us a word. Whatever you want, and we will stop, yeah? Keep us in check.”

Tony's breath came in a choppy stutter when Steve rubbed over his prostate, but he managed a stammered, “Y-yes. Um... roses. Roses for stop. Roses mean stop.”

“Roses.” Bucky echoed. “That's perfect.”

Steve waited for Tony to whisper permission before he started moving again, opening Tony up around his fingers. “God, Tony you are  _gorgeous_ like this.” he muttered. “Can't wait to see how you stretch around our cocks.”

“Mmmm. Both of us.” Bucky groaned. “Yes, baby, yes. Pretty little thing, would love to see you open around us.”

“I can't take  _both_ of you.” Tony protested, the words coming out on a breathy moan as Steve brushed over his prostate again. “Not at the same time.”

“Oh, sweet thing, I bet you could. You’re perfect. Made for us. Bet you can take both of us without even trying.” Bucky started touching lightly where Steve's fingers were already moving in Tony's tight body. “Want to try it? Want to try having both of us inside you? Just our fingers? Can we play with you like this?” Bucky was already pressing against Tony's stretched rim, circling the tight muscle purposefully. “Say yes, Tony.”

“Say yes.” Steve repeated, lacing his fingers through Bucky's and placing them on the back of his head. Bucky raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Steve leaned up to kiss Tony hard, then turned enough to kiss Bucky.

“I'm gonna suck Tony off.” he said and a groan punched from Tony's chest when he heard him. “I'm gonna suck Tony off, and you’re going to get inside him with me.”

Bucky's eyes started glowing, and his fangs dropped as a wave of  _possessive_ rocked his body. “Mine.” he growled. “Both of you are  _mine_.”

“Love those fangs.” Steve growled right back, his own teeth sharpening, and this time when the Alpha shifters kissed, there was blood on their lips when they parted.

“Down.” Bucky snapped. “Open you mouth.” Steve barely had any time to take a breath as Bucky pushed his head down hard, forcing him down over Tony's cock.

“Oh oh  _oh_ fuck! Oh my god! Oh my---” Tony yelled when his cock hit the back of Steve's throat, and he thought his vision would white out when Steve simply opened more and took him down further.

Bucky was demanding a kiss, so Tony turned his head and kissed him fiercely, desperately. “ _Buckybuckybucky_ \---” he could barely speak, could barely even think straight when thick metal fingers started slipping into him. “Oh no no no---"

“Roses?” Bucky froze, waiting for the safeword, but Tony shook his head. “Good boy. You can take it.” he insisted, fangs scraping Tony's bottom lip and tongue as they kissed. “You can take us. Our beautiful mate,  _made_ for us. Every inch of you. Want you to come with both of us inside you.”

“St-Steve.  _Steve--Steve_!” Tony jerked hard when Steve pulled off him to swirl his tongue over the sensitive head, licking and lapping at the drops of precome flowing from the slit.

“Taste good, Tony. Pretty little shifter.” Steve murmured, and took him deep again, slowing his fingers to make room as Bucky opened Tony up even further.

“Fuck!” Tony broke their kiss, breath coming in hard gasps when two of Bucky's fingers forced their way into him. “God it's--  _goddamnit_ I'm--”

“Tell us.” Steve thrust his fingers sharply and Tony  _screamed_ , then screamed again when Steve withdrew and Bucky thrust deep. “Tell us!” Steve let Bucky push his head back down, and he hummed around Tony's cock, their; fingers finding a hard rhythm inside him, Steve curling and twisting his fingers until he found that one spot inside Tony that had the beautiful man nearly sobbing.

“Tell us.” Bucky whispered into his ear, and let a third finger tease at Tony's rim. “Tell us how we feel.”

“So full!” Tony blurted. “So full, so big,  _so big_ , so perfect. I can't, you guys I  _can't_ take it, so deep- oh no no no---”

The Alpha shifters slowed but they didn't stop, and Steve pulled off long enough to ask, “Roses?”

“Ah ah ah fuck!” Tony cried out. “Ah damn it you feel-- you feel-- “ they started moving faster again, never taking their eyes from their mate, wanting to know the minute he told them to stop. “Yes yes  _please_ , deeper.” Tony finally whimpered as the last ripple of discomfort faded and he was left with nothing but pure pleasure. “Want more of you,  _all_ of you.  _Both of you_. Give it to me, I can take it.”

“Oh hell yes.” Bucky groaned when Tony's tone went from nervous to  _desperate_ , when he stopped trying to pull away and started pushing himself back down against their fingers, started thrusting his hips up into Steve's mouth. “That's right, baby, fuck that pretty mouth, oh  _god_ Steve look at how good you are at this. Tony you’re so beautiful,  _so_ beautiful. Steve, honey take him all, just like that.”

Bucky kept encouraging them, coaxing them both to  _more_ , as he plunged his fingers in and out of Tony's sweet body, as he stroked and petted Steve's hair, light pressure then harder, helping Steve take Tony down his throat.

Then, all the sudden Tony was crying out, nearly shouting that he was going to come, that he was---”Oh fuck I'm close I’m  _close_ gonna come like this, gonna come with both of you inside me, my mates,  _ **mine**_ , please please  _please_!”

Bucky held Steve down against Tony's lap with one hand, the other buried deep alongside Steve's fingers inside him, and Tony tossed his head back, his entire body locking up as he came screaming, tightening around them, pouring down Steve's throat, his mind blanking, whiting out as heat swept up his spine and nearly drowned him in pleasure.

“God  _dammit_ Tony.”

“That was the most beautiful thing I've ever--”

“  _Jesus_ , baby look at you--”

“You're  _ours_ , Tony. Perfect pretty thing.”

“Such a darling gorgeous kitty. You are  _ours_.”

“You're ours, and we are yours.”

“Always, sweet thing.”

“  _Always_.”

“Fuck, we love you.”

“We  _love_ you."

Steve was wiping his mouth, licking his lips, easing from Tony's body, and Bucky followed suit, laying gentle kisses on Tony's face and jaw, carefully _so carefully_ removing his fingers from inside, each of them whispering sweet things, pressing light kisses all over all the skin they could reach.

Tony was limp, drained, unable to do anything besides smile tiredly as strong hands smoothed over him from both sides, trying to reply to the soft words, mumbling as he tried to tell them he was alright, that he loved them, that it had been so good----

“Oh wait.” he suddenly stirred, eyes blinking open. “What about you guys? Do you want me to—How do you want to--”

“Shhh.” Bucky lifted him off his lap, closing his legs gently when Tony winced, and set him on the soft upholstery next to him. “You don't have to worry about us. This is  _always_ all about you.”

“Always.” Steve echoed softly, still kneeling on the floor. “We love you, Tony, just want you to feel good. Our pretty shifter.”

“God, we love you so much.” Bucky sighed happily, nuzzling into Tony's ear, then stiffening when a hand landed heavy on his crotch, stroking over the bulge in his jeans. “Steve…”

“Come on. Want you to feel good too.” Steve pulled him a little away from Tony, lifting up on his knees to slot their mouths together eagerly. “Want you too.”

“Ah, fuck.” Bucky gave in with a low growl, biting at Steve's lips harshly. “God I want you too. Can't pretend I don't anymore. Tired of acting like you don't make me crazy.”

“ _Yes_.” Steve hissed when Bucky palmed him through his slacks, fingers curling around his cock. “Pants off.”

“No, I bet I can make you come like this.” Bucky half teased, half groaned, and rubbed faster against him, their kiss growing sloppy and messy as their breathing sped up.

Steve was thrusting into the touch, unable to do much more then open his mouth and let Bucky kiss him, claws out as his Lion surged forward, digging into Bucky's thighs. “Yeah, that's right.” Bucky encouraged between kisses. “Let your lion out to play just a little, not gonna hurt anyone, come on.”

A snarl and Steve burst into a partial shift right there, muscles bulging, claws lengthening, hair growing rapidly into his mane. He was rumbling, almost growling, maybe purring, his body stretching and growing as the shift rolled through him.

Bucky snapped his jaws, eyes glowing as he moved his hand harder over Steve's cock, letting his nails grow just enough to make Steve  _yowl_ when they scraped him.

“Close.” Steve panted and Bucky wound his fingers through the long hair and pulled sharply.

“Come for me.” Bucky commanded. “  _Alpha_.”

Tony watched with his mouth wide open as Steve came, his back bowed, claws shredding the upholstery on the seat, muscles shaking through his orgasm.

“Oh that's good.” Bucky gasped. “Honey, that's so good. Baby doll, sweetheart,  _darling_ , that is perfect. Just  _look_ at you. Fucking gorgeous. Good Christ, Stevie, never seen an Alpha half as gorgeous as you are.”

Once Steve could breathe he nearly stumbled into Bucky's lap, straddling him and grinding down against him harshly, never minding the wet patch on his pants, just concentrating on getting Bucky off.

“ _Ah_ like that.” Bucky started thrusting back against Steve's weight, and Tony scrambled across the seat to kiss him, to get his hands all over as much of both of them as he could. “Fuck,  _Steve_ , harder.” Bucky gripped Steve's hips tight and moved him exactly how he needed, tilting his head to kiss Tony until he couldn't anymore, until all he could think about was needing to come and then Steve leaned close and whispered,

“I love you Buck.”

“Love you.” Tony repeated. “My mate.”

“ _Alpha_.”

“ _God dammit_!” Bucky nearly came off the seat, pouring hot and wet into the fabric of his jeans, Steve rocking above him and Tony kissing and touching him the entire time.

“Oh, oh  _fuck_ yes.  _Yes_.” he was barely coherent, the words only a rumble in his chest and Tony curled close into his side, Steve moving farther up his thighs to get as close as he could, burying his face in Bucky's neck.

“My mates.” Bucky finally managed, after several minutes.

“My mates.” Steve agreed, wrapping a big arm around Tony.

“Mine. Mine. You're both  **mine**  .” Tony bared his teeth in a little snarl, and both the Alpha shifters chuckled at him.

“Darling little thing.”

“Such a good boy.”

“Pretty little kitty.”

“Our favorite perfect shifter.”

******************

******************

Happy didn't say anything about how he had been parked for nearly twenty minutes by the time they climbed out of the back seat. He had vacated the limo as soon as he could to escape the noise and was sitting reading a magazine several cars over in the garage, waiting to lock up.

He didn't say anything about the obvious stains on the front of Bucky and Steve's pants.

He  _certainly_ didn't say anything about how Tony was obviously naked, wrapped up in Steve's jacket, carried carefully in Bucky's arms.

And he knew if he valued his life, he was never going to say anything  _ever_ about the mess in the backseat that would take a professional cleaning, the claw marks ruining the upholstery, or the pile of shredded clothes that had belonged to Tony.

No, he was definitely not saying a damn thing.

Because Tony was perfectly content right now, a soft, sated smiled on his lips as the trio walked past him, and that was enough for Happy.

Steve sent him an apologetic look and a shrug and Happy just shrugged right back.

Tony was happy.

Everything else was irrelevant.

 


	11. Chapter 11

“How you doing big guy?” Clint clapped Bucky on the shoulder and flopped onto the couch next to him. “Holding up okay?”

“Not good.” The soldier bit out. “They've been in there for  _hours_.”

“I imagine this is difficult for you.” Wanda said sympathetically, and left Visions lap to sit on Bucky's other side, encouraging him to lay down with his head on her legs. He sighed, but took the offer of comfort and she worked her fingers through his hair slowly. “I cannot imagine sharing my mate with anyone.”

“There is no need to ever worry about that.” Vision pressed a light kiss to her lips as he passed and Wanda smiled up at him, then down in sympathy at Bucky.

“It is good of you, to allow Steve to bond with him first. Sweet of you.”

“Gentler.” Bucky grunted. “Just our nature. Wolf bonding leaves bruises, didn't want him hurting for Steve.”

“You are a darling for that.” Her accented voice soothed him, and Bucky felt himself start to relax a little, closing his eyes.

“Is he alright?” Natasha asked quietly.

Clint shrugged.“I've never had to wait while my mate bonded with another shifter, so I can't really say.”

“Mmm.” Natasha nodded in agreement and kissed him long and slow, trailing her fingers over his jaw. “Come to bed with me  _mate._ I'm ready for a nap.” 

“Hey guys.” Clint jumped to his feet. “I'm gonna-- you know what? I don't need an excuse. You've all seen Tasha. See you in a few hours.”

“Bucky, remember what we talked about.” Natasha warned.

He nodded. “Either one of us hurts Tony, or makes the bonding difficult for us, you’ll set us on fire. No, I got it.”

“Good.” she bared her teeth in a snarl.

“Leave him alone.” Wanda reprimanded. “This is difficult enough without you threatening bodily harm.” Bucky groaned and buried his head further in Wanda’s lap. “Poor thing.” She whispered. “I will stay here with you as long as takes.”

****************

****************

“I love you Tony. Do you know that I love you?”

Steve was moving steadily inside him, pressing further,  _deeper_ with every long, slow stroke, and Tony was nearly blanking out, barely coherent as heat started curling through his body  _again_.

“I love you too.” He managed, and Steve kissed him gently, tenderly, his tongue moving in lazy swirls inside Tony's mouth.

“I want you like this always.” His already deep voice was  _so much lower_ now, rolling from his chest like thunder, and Tony  _loved_ it. “Want you like this beneath me, looking up at me. Look at me, sweetheart, let me see you.”

Tony forced his eyes open, meeting dark blue eyes that were shading to gold as Steve's pleasure built.

“God, you're beautiful. My little shifter.” Steve ran a big hand through Tony's hair, down his neck, following the curve of his back and down to his ass, holding him tight, opening him up that much more, and Tony's whole body jerked as sparks flashed in front of his eyes.

“Again, like that.” He whispered and Steve murmured something soft and sweet, adjusting how they lay together until he was brushing that spot every time, with every thrust of his hips, and Tony was tossing his head back and forth as the pleasure edged towards pain. “Don't know if I can come again, but  _oh_ you feel good.” He gasped and Steve soothed him with light kisses, pressing deeper, harder now.

“You  _can_ , honey, you can come again for me. Just one more time. The others times were so good, just one more time for me.” He encouraged, coaxed, nearly  _begged_ his almost-mate. “Want to see you, sweetheart. Want to watch you. Want to feel you around me when you come this time.”

“  _Dammit_.” Tony gasped. “Touch me. Touch me again, please please  _oh fuck,_ like that, yes.” Steve gripped him firmly, just tight enough to make him want to shout, stroking over him quickly until Tony was writhing beneath him in near desperation.

“Tell me you're close.” Steve breathed, rolling his hips in a slow thrust that had Tony arching his back and crying for  _more._ “Tell me your close, Tony. Don't want to wait any longer. Want you to be mine.  _Mine.”_

 _“_ Yours.” Tony groaned, and covered Steve's hand with his own, jerking himself harder now. “Yours, Steve  _yours!”_

He came with a cry bordering on painful, his over sensitive body tightening around where Steve was buried  _so deep_ inside him.

“Oh that's right, that's  _perfect_.” Steve praised him over and over, slowing his hand down when Tony started whimpering.

“Yours.” He said shakily. “Take me.”

“Ah  _fuck_ , Tony.” Steve's hips snapped forward into all that heat, the easy slow motion from before gone as he chased his own edge. “You are so beautiful like this, beneath me, around me oh my  _god.”_

He was panting, trying to kiss Tony but only able to touch their lips together barely as he got closer, driving in and out of that  _perfect_ body as hard as he could, lifting Tony's leg from around his waist to over his shoulder and Tony eyes snapped shut and he  _shrieked,_ bursting into a partial shift right beneath Steve's fingers, lean muscles rippling and stretching as his body changed.

“Gorgeous.” Steve groaned, one hand running the length of that long black tail. “My beautiful little shifter,  _look_ at you.”

A few more strokes and his Lion came forward enough to change his eyes to gold, his fingers to claws and he let go of Tony instantly, not willing to hurt him, digging his claws into the bed instead.

“Tony!” He cried. “  _Tony!”_ Steve threw his head back and  _roared_ his release, the windows shaking as the sound filled the room.

Tony gave a little cry of his own when Steve darted forward, sinking fangs into his neck hard enough to break the skin, cementing their bond, wanting to  _roar_ all over again when he tasted Tony's sweet blood.

“My mate.” He whispered when he could speak again. “My mate. Thank you.  _Thank you_ for this.”

“Yours.” Tony whispered into his ear as Steve licked gently over the bite, his Lion purring and rumbling softly.

“Your mine and I'm yours.” Steve returned. “  _Yours_ , Tony.”

******************

Bucky entered the room cautiously, giving the Lion shifter plenty of time to realize he was there, not wanting to fight a newly bonded Lion defending his claim on a  _mate._

The room  _reeked_ of them though, and Bucky had to quiet his own growl, had to remember that Tony wanted them  _both_ , that his turn was coming if he could just be  _patient._

“It's alright.” Steve's voice was hoarse in the dark, and he flipped on the small lamp on Tony's nightstand. “Come on, we've been waiting for you.”

Relieved, Bucky crossed to the side of the bed, bending to touch his forehead to Steve's for just a few seconds, before even looking at Tony. “Oh, look how happy he is.” He whispered and Steve nodded with a contented sigh.

“He was amazing. I can't even believe it. Come on though, he will want you here when he wakes up. We both want you here.” Steve lifted to kiss him gently, then pushed him towards Tony.

Bucky moved around the bed, laying on top of the covers and pressing his lips to Tony's cheek.

“Mmm. There's my Wolf.” Tony sighed happily and turned to face him, lifting his lips for a proper kiss. “Glad you're here.”

“Of course I'm here, honey.” Bucky swallowed hard. It wasn't  _easy_ being in same room as them, so soon after a bonding, staring at the prominent mark on Tony's neck that matched Steve's teeth.

No, this definitely the hardest thing he'd ever done, sharing a bed with a newly bonded couple, especially when  _he_ wanted to be bonded to Tony, but he'd do it if  _killed_ him, if that's what Tony wanted. Besides, he wanted  _Steve_ too and he knew it would all be fine once he and Tony had their time but  _fuck_ it was hard right now.

Steve was still watching Tony fondly, but glanced up long enough to look concernedly at Bucky. “You alright? I know this isn't easy, but I can't say thank you enough for letting me go---”

“It's fine.” Bucky hushed him. “It's fine. Can I hold him? Or do you need me to keep my distance still--” Even though Tony was  _theirs,_ he wasn't going to push it with the Lion. Not now.

“Hold him.” Steve placed a light kiss on Tony's neck over the bonding mark. “Hold him all night long. I'll hold him too. It will be perfect. This is going to be perfect.”

 _“_ _Somebody_ better hold me.” Tony mumbled, and made grabby motions with his hands.

“High maintenance.” Steve whispered, and lay down behind Tony, waiting for Buck to do the same before they carefully wound their arms around him, and Tony sighed happily.

“This  _is_ perfect.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

Tony's voice was already raw from screaming as Bucky filled him for a third time, plunging deep inside him with one brutal thrust.

Face down in a stack of pillows, ass raised high in the air, Tony couldn't do much more than hold on for dear life and try to breathe as Bucky took him hard and fast, holding him tight enough to leave bruises on his waist and hips.

His neck and chest were littered with love bites and scratch marks because the Wolf shifter was not  _near_ as gentle as Steve had been, and even though Tony had flinched away from his teeth after too sharp a bite over his nipple, he had pulled Bucky right back against him, begging him not to stop, not to  _ever_ stop.

Bucky had growled deep in his throat, his eyes lighting with  _want_ , and had licked over every bite mark, soothing them before nipping against him again, wanting  _needing_ to see Tony covered in proof of their mating.

“I love you.” He murmured and snapped his hips forward and Tony pressed his face to the pillows so he wouldn't cry out. “I  _love_ you, Tony. Pretty kitty, sweet soft little thing let me feel you change, want to be inside you when you shift, come on.”

Bucky's voice was low and  _savage_ even as he called Tony every sweet thing he could think of with every push inside his  _mate_. “Shift for me baby, honey, sugar, beautiful thing,  _come on_ sweet thing, little darling kitty, shift for me. Want to play with you like  _this.”_

He pushed Tony's legs farther apart, brought him closer up to him and ground their hips together in a rough motion. Tony's back bowed as his entire body lit, electricity zinging through his veins when Bucky touched him  _just_ right.

“Oh oh  _oh!!”_ Tony shuddered all over as he dropped into his shift and Bucky never stopped moving inside him,  _into_ him, but he wrapped Tony's tail around his left wrist and tugged lightly, then a little harder when Tony's suddenly clawed hand shot back to scrabble against the metal, trying to make him let go, because it  _hurt_ but at the same time punched his arousal so far up so quickly Tony was nearly dizzy with want, with the need to come.

“Please please  _please_ let me come.” He begged, arching his back and baring his neck to entice the Wolf shifter closer. “  _Please_ please need you need you, my  _mate.”_

He was  _desperate_ , Bucky hadn't let him come  _once_ today, even though he'd been inside him three different times. He had always pulled out before he or Tony was ready and after  _hours_ like this Tony was sure he'd pass out before he could--

“---YES YES YES!!” He cried when Bucky  _finally_ wrapped a big hand around his leaking, _aching_ cock, pulling over him with hard quick strokes, and  _finally_ Tony was coming, soaking the pillows beneath him as he sobbed through it, his claws shredding the blankets as he ripped at them, trying for  _anything_ to keep him splintering entirely apart. But then he could feel the change as Bucky let his Wolf forward just enough to---

“--oh oh no nonononono I can't take it, Bucky I can't take it, I can't---”

“My mate.” Bucky snarled and slammed their hips together over and over, faster and faster. “My _mate,_ you are  _made_ to take me.  _All_ of me. Take me, let me have you like this.”

Tony's body rocked through a second orgasm before he had even come down from the first, and this time he  _definitely_ screamed as Bucky came deep inside him, the Wolf shifters knot expanding and locking them together as Bucky closed his eyes and  _howled_ his absolute pleasure into the room.

Sharp teeth in Tony's neck then, and he couldn't do more than moan and shiver as Bucky bit into him, a bonding mark on the opposite side of Steve's, marking them as mates.

“  _Mine.”_ Bucky's voice was little more than a rumble in his chest. “Mine. Tony.  _I love you_. My mate. Say it,  _say it.”_

“Yours.” Tony ran clawed fingers over Bucky's scalp, tangling in his hair, keeping him close over him. “  _Yours_.”

As soon as he was seeing straight again, Bucky eased them over onto the pillows, trying not smile as Tony yelped and shrieked when he realized they were still locked tight.

“How long?” Tony asked, closing his eyes and letting Bucky lick and kiss softly over the bond mark.

“Forever.” Bucky murmured and Tony chuckled at him.

“I meant how long will we be together like this.”

“Oh.” Bucky sounded sheepish. “Half an hour or so.”

“I kind of like it.” Tony hummed and Bucky kissed every inch of him he could reach like this.

“We can do this as often as you want. I'm yours and you're mine, Tony.”

“Forever.” Tony mumbled and fell asleep.

“Thank you.  _Thank you_.” Bucky kept kissing him, couldn't stop touching him, even as he turned them sideways into the stack of pillows, holding Tony close as he waited for their bodies to calm. “My mate.  _Thank you.”_

********************

After a short nod of permission from Bucky, Steve slipped into bed next to Tony, pulling the covers up and over their shoulders. “Is he alright?”

Bucky nodded slowly. “A little bruised up, but he's fine. Sore tomorrow probably.” He winced. “My Wolf wasn't exactly gentle with him.”

“Happy though? Both of you?”

Bucky flushed and nodded again and Steve leaned over Tony to bump their foreheads, then slot their lips together for a long moment. “Glad you're here.” Bucky whispered. “It's right, all three of us like this.”

“Yeah.” Steve whispered back, and rubbed their noses together before staring down at Tony.

“I can't stop looking at him either.” Bucky admitted, and Steve kissed him again.

“Stop staring at me and go to sleep.” Tony said with a little snarl after several minutes and they both chuckled.

“Sorry.”

“Sorry, honey.”

“You're just beautiful.”

“Such a pretty kitty, Tony.”

“Don't call me kitty, I  _hate_ it.”

Bucky growled. “You  _love_ it.”

“....I love it.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

“If I watch this anymore I'm going to be sick.” Rhodey made a face, but didn't bother looking away. “Is this really happening?”

“You should be pleased, Colonel.” Wanda said disapprovingly. “Seeing your best friend so happy like this? You more than anyone know that Tony needs this sort of love.”

“Yeah. No, I am happy for him.” Rhodey admitted. “But come on. This is…. this is… they do this  _every_ morning? Exactly like this?”

“Every. Single. Morning.” Natasha emphasized. She was the only one in the group  _not_ watching the, studiously reading her magazine and ignoring the three mates in the kitchen.

“It's the cutest thing in the world.” Clint interjected. “How long have we waited for  _each_ of those guys to be happy? And now they are happy  _together_ , what could be better than this?” He calmly lifted his phone and snapped a picture.

“Clint, what the  _fuck_?”

“For science?” He offered with an embarrassed smile. “Maybe blackmail. But come on. It's _adorable_.”

“I believe Hawkeye is correct.” Vision said smoothly. “To see our Captain, Sergeant Barnes _and_ Anthony so happy after they have all been through so much… perhaps we can allow them this unorthodox display of affection.”

“Well I still think it's gross.” Rhodey huffed and crossed his arms. “Really, it's almost indecent. I can't believe I'm actually still watching this.”

***************

***************

“I think they are talking about us.” Steve said softly, scooping up some oatmeal and feeding it to Tony slowly, completely enjoying the way Tony thoroughly cleaned every bit of food from his fingers before releasing them.

“I think they can suck it.” Tony responded primly, and turned to Bucky, who offered him half a strawberry from his own mouth, and Tony grinned, flicking his tongue out to taste the fruit and and all over Bucky's lips before taking it and eating it happily.

He was perched on the kitchen counter, both the soldiers pressed against either leg, feeding him in small bites between kisses and nuzzles. He wasn't even wearing a shirt, preferring to have both his bonding marks on full display, as well as to allow his mates to touch all over as much skin as they wanted.

“I think maybe we gross them out a little.” Bucky took a drink of milk and tilted the glass so Tony could have some too, smiling as Steve got some more oatmeal ready.

“I think they can  _suck it_.” Tony said again, more firmly this time.

“How's your throat, honey?” Steve asked softly. “Feeling alright?”

Tony shrugged a little.“A little sore, but I'm fine.” He rubbed at his throat, then over his reddened bonding marks with a rueful smile.

Last night, Bucky had thrown him onto the bed, taking him hard and fast while Steve had stood at his head and fucked into his throat viciously, both of them jacking him off roughly, leaving bites all over his chest and stomach, and when they had finished, each Alpha shifter had remarked his neck, breaking through the original bond mark with their teeth.

Tony had shuddered and screamed and come three separate times because his mates weren't satisfied with just once or twice.

He was sore and aching this morning, his voice raw, his ass stinging, but he didn't care. Not in the littlest bit.

“So, we've officially been bonded for a month now and I bought something fun to celebrate with you two.” He opened for another bite of the warm oatmeal, sighing as it soothed his throat.

“Oh?” Steve moaned softly when Tony let his teeth scrape over his fingers and Bucky nipped a little bite onto Tony's cheek.“Tell us what you got, honey.”

“Come and find out.” Tony teased and hopped off the counter, giving them both a kiss as thanks for his breakfast, and headed up to his their penthouse. “Give me five minutes.”

Bucky and Steve waved at him, and finished the rest of their own breakfast quickly.

“You sleep alright last night?” Bucky put his bowl down and reached for Steve, bumping their foreheads together.

Steve closed his eyes and let himself relax into the touch “Yeah. Tossed and turned but--”

“Something on your mind?” Bucky asked, bringing his hand up to massage Steve's neck lightly, and the Lion shifter sighed at the contact, swaying a little closer.

“Nothing new. Did I keep you awake?”

“No, just checking on you.” Bucky smiled when Steve stepped even closer, silently asking for  _more,_ so he dropped a light kiss on his forehead, holding him tighter.

It was good between them, like this, so they stayed close for a short while, soothing each other with barely there touches, light rumbles and growls, letting their bond strengthen.

It was several minutes before Steve cleared his throat and stepped away somewhat reluctantly. “Shall we? Don't want to keep Tony waiting.”

“High maintenance little thing.” Bucky agreed with a grin and laced their fingers together to head upstairs.

******************

******************

Tony's mates knocked on the bedroom door softly, then waited a moment before entering.

The lights were low in the bedroom, nothing except the bed side lamps lit. Every pillow from all the couches and chairs had been gathered on top of the bed, and in the middle of them all, sitting up on his knees was Tony.

He was partial shifted, ears up and alert, tail twitching playfully behind him, claws out and tracing little circles into his thighs.

And he wasn't wearing  _anything_ _e_ xcept a black velvet collar around his neck. His name was stitched in silver lettering in big bold letters, and the tag hooked around it proudly labeled him as Bucky and Steve's.

“Oh  _Tony_.” Steve dropped to his knees just that fast, knocked nearly speechless by the sight. “ _Look_ at you sweetheart. So beautiful.”

“Stunning.” Bucky knelt too, grabbing Steve's arm to keep either of them from just jumping on the bed. “ Oh what a perfect  _pretty_ little kitty you are.”

Alpha shifters or not, they were completely at the mercy of their mate like this, and were already rolling into their partial shifts, voices deepening, teeth sharpening as the need to  _take_ surged through them.

But their mate needed compliments first, compliments and flattery and  _so much love_ , so they just knelt there and said everything that came to mind, sweet words and phrases spilling from their lips even as they both reached for him, tried to edge closer to the bed,  _needed_ him more than they needed to breathe.

“God, just look at you.”

“So perfect.”

“How gorgeous.”

“Our mate.”

_“_ _Ours.”_

_“_ What did we even do to get so lucky?”

“Come here, honey.”

“Can we play? Oh  _please_ let us play with you.”

“We need you sweetheart.”

“So wonderful for us.”

“Made for us.”

“Look at those gorgeous ears.”

“That beautiful long tail.”

“Beautiful,  _perfect_ kitty.”

“ _So_ perfect, sweet thing.”

And Tony just bared his little fangs and smiled.

Because this was fucking  _purrrfect._

 

 

**_Epilogue_ **

**_*****************_ **

The ringtone of Steve's phone completely interrupted the mission briefing, and absolutely made Agent Coulsons jaw drop.

“ _Who let the dogs out? Who who who who! Who let the dogs out_?”

“Oh my god.” Steve's face flamed red and he scrambled to mute it. “I am so sorry, Agent Coulson, Colonel Rhodes, its um—”

“Captain Rogers.” Rhodey was trying his damnedest to keep the smirk off his face. “Captain Rogers.” he cleared his throat. “Would I be correct in assuming that Sergeant Barnes is the one calling you right now?”

“I–I–” the Lion shifter swallowed back a growl of annoyance. “My mate changed my ringtone, I apologize.”

“Sorry, but Seargent Barnes chose that as his ringtone?” Agent Coulson asked in that quietly, polite way of his. “Sergeant Barnes, the Alpha Wolf shifter?”

“Not that mate. My  _other_  mate, Tony.” he breathed a deep sigh.

Tony had changed his ringtone because he'd been upset Steve couldn't stay with him all day today. Not that Steve had wanted to spend his whole day locked in the conference room talking about missions and personnel.

No he would much rather be snuggled up in bed with both his mates. He missed Tony and Bucky so much he nearly ached. He needed a break from all this. A break from being Captain America. A break from being  _Steve_. He needed to just be Bucky and Tony's mate, and let them take care of him.

Steve shook his head and pushed those thoughts away. He had been feeling down for weeks now and didn't really know what to do about it.“If you’ll excuse me.” he said politely. “I need to take this.”

“Ah. Of course.” Coulson said with a little smile. “By all means, take your mates call.”

“Thank you. Just a few minutes.” Steve stepped into the hallway and opened his phone. “Bucky, I swear to god. You know I am in a meeting, I will muzzle your–”

“911, Steve.” Bucky's voice was stressed, nearly a whine. “911, our room. Its Tony.”

“Oh shit.” Steve only stepped into the conference room long enough to snatch his shield, and took off running, no apology or explanation or anything.

“I haven't been around the compound much since this all happened.” Coulson commented mildly. “Does this sort of thing–”

“Tony is the most high maintenance person in the world. Also the most high maintenance shifter. Steve and Bucky have their hands full all the time.”

“Tony couldn't weigh more than a hundred and twenty pounds.” Coulson raised his eyebrows. “How much trouble could he possibly be?”

Rhodey just started laughing. “Phil. You literally have no idea how much of a handful Tony can be.”

“Isnt his shifter form a _cat_?”

“ _Phil_. You have no idea.” The Colonel collapsed back into his chair, shoulders shaking.

“But both Rogers and Barnes are Alpha–”

“Phil.” Rhodey was full on cackling now, wiping his tears away. “ _You have no idea.”_

************

“Tony!” Steve was yelling, racing up the stairs, tearing into a partial shift as he went, a snarl burning in his throat at the thought of something happening to either of his mates, but _especially_ Tony. Perfect, tiny, little smitten Tony who needed to be held and cuddled and protected and–

The door burst inwards when he smashed into it shield first and skidded to a stop.“Bucky,  _mate_ , are you–is everything–”  His shield hit the ground with a clang. “Bucky, are you  _kidding_  me?”

“Shush.” Bucky hadn't even turned to look at him yet, kneeling on the floor and staring at their big bed. He was partial shifted, ears and claws out, tail wagging furiously. “ _Look_  at him.”

“Oh my god.” Steve dropped onto the ground next to him, his claws retracting as he pulled his Lion back. “Oh, honey,  _look_  at him.”

“I know.” Bucky reached and laced their fingers together, his claws scraping over Steves palm. “Our mate is the cutest.”

“God, hes the cutest.”

Tony, fully shifted into his  ~~tiny~~  fierce eight pound cat, was curled in the center of their giant bed, little face buried inside his Iron Man mask.

“What is he doing?” Steve dropped his voice into a whisper, leaning closer to his mate, enjoying the physical contact after being apart all day. “Why is he–”

“FRIDAY says Tony had a rough day, didn't want to face anything so he shifted and crawled into his helmet and fell asleep.”

“Sweet, perfect thing.” Steve said sympathetically. “Why didn't he call us?”

“We were busy.” Bucky snorted. “But he should know that's not a valid reason. He knows he can talk to us anytime.” He looked over when Steve leaned against him, and hooked an arm around his mate's shoulders. “You need to be held, Stevie? Get your Lion ass over here.”

The Wolf shifter tugged Steve tighter against his chest. “You know you don't have to ask, sugar, come on. I've been missing you, come on.”

“Thanks.” Steve mumbled. It was still difficult for him, even after being mated for a month to both Tony and Bucky, to admit when he needed to be held, when he needed Bucky to be the Alpha and take care of him. “So…Tony. What are we doing about Tony.”

“Sure. Changing the subject is fine. Not that I've noticed that the past few weeks have been hard on you and want to be there for you or anything.” Bucky nuzzled into his hair affectionately. “I think we need to climb on that bed and cuddle our mate. He obviously needs some loving to make it through today, and you do too.”

“I'm fine.” Steve protested, but he definitely pressed his face tighter into Bucky's chest.

“Sure.” Bucky comforted. “Sure. Up on the bed, honey. Partial shift for me, let me see those pretty gold eyes. Let your Lion out and I'll hold you.”

Steve promptly obeyed, pulling his shirt up and over his chest and letting the partial shift take him, eyes shading to gold and Bucky growled in approval watching the muscles ripple under all that perfect skin.

“Beautiful.” he said, and Steve flushed a little, crawling up on the bed and lying down next to Tony.

The cat meowed a sleepily, little paws twitching, and Bucky nearly melted. “God, hes precious.”

“So precious.” Steve echoed, and ran his hand gently over Tony's soft fur. “You ok, sweetheart? Having a rough day?”

Another little meow that sounded more like a whimper, and Bucky was stripping off his clothes, shifting further into his Wolf and following his mate onto the bed, curling his big body around both Steve and the tiny cat.

“Hey, sweet thing.” he crooned. “Want to tell us whats wrong? Want to take the mask off and let us hold you?”

There was a long moment of just silence, then Tony slid away from the mask slowly, scooting across the bed until he was lying between their chests, curled into a little ball.

“There you are.” “Aw, little darling, whats wrong?” “Talk to us, honey.” “We’re right here, both of us.” “We love you, Tony.” “Our perfect little shifter. “Perfect, pretty little kitty.”

Tony sighed and stretched a little, then closed his eyes and started purring happily. Bucky glanced up and smiled into Steve's golden eyes.

“Come here.” he tugged at him and Steve pressed closer, nearly squishing Tony between them as he tucked his head under Bucky's chin, breathing in the comforting scents of both his mates. “That's good.” Bucky murmured comfortingly, his big arms circling both of them. “My mates. Mine. I love you both. So much.”

Tony purred louder then, and Steve definitely  _wasn't_  purring, but the Lion shifter was definitely rumbling in a soft purr-y kind of way, and Bucky just smiled and held them both a little closer, a little tighter.

Both his mates were perfect.

******************

Tony woke up sandwiched between his two mates, and happy as hell. He had told FRIDAY specifically to not let them know hed been having a bad day, but he was absolutely thrilled they had found him. Nothing was better than waking up with both his mates in bed with him, Bucky's arms keeping them safe.

“Bucky.” he whispered. “Mate.”

“ _Mate_.” Bucky replied sleepily and dropped his head to press a long kiss to his lips. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Better now.” Tony snuggled closer into the big Alpha.

“You should have called us. We could have come sooner.”

“You were busy.” Tony said with a shrug, and behind him Steve nuzzled his neck.

“Not an excuse, honey.”

“Definitely not.” Bucky emphasized. “So whats going on?”

“Nothing. Just had a rough day. Wanted to hide.”

“Don't hide from us, Tony.” Steve cuddled up against him, laying soft kisses on his shoulders. “Not us.”

“Never us.” Bucky smiled. “Even though, seeing you wearing your mask was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Ever. And sweet thing, I have seen  _alot_  of cute kittens and puppies and I am telling you, you are the cutest.”

“Bucky.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Tony, his tail was wagging so fast it was like looking at a Labrador instead of a several hundred pound Alpha level shifter Wolf who had called me in a panic crying 911.”

“Did you call Steve in a panic?” Tony was trying not to laugh because Bucky looked just horribly affronted that Steve had told on him.

“It was just– you were so adorable. Tony, baby, my little kitten, so cute.” The Alpha shifter growled. “Mine. My litte shifter.” He glanced over at Steve. “Both of you. Mine.”

“Yours.” Tony whispered.

“ _Yours_.” Steve repeated, his voice a little rough.

“Tony, if you’re alright, I think our mate needs some extra love today.” Bucky said with a soft smile and Tony leaned up to kiss him lightly before flipping over and jumping on Steve, raining kisses all over his face and neck, wiggling against him happily.

“Tony!” Steve was laughing, big hands resting on Tony's bare hips. “Honey, I'm  _fine_.”

“Are you?” Bucky's voice dropped into that low rumble that he only used in bed with his mates. and Steve's eyes bled to gold. “Because I feel like you need some  _love_. He bent over Steve and slotted their lips together, humming in encouragement when Steve whined a little, and started panting.

“I love when he makes that noise.” Tony said, looking up from licking and kissing down Steve's chest. “That little desperate…”

“I  _know_.” Bucky kissed him again, and laced a hand through Tony's dark hair, pushing him down lower. “Use your mouth, sugar, he loves that. Open those pretty lips.”

“ _Fuck_.” Steve groaned when Tony grinned and wet his lips eagerly.

“Hold him down.” Tony instructed. “He gets all jumpy during blowjobs.”

“Its perfect.” Bucky said soothingly when Steve flushed red. “Everything both of you do is perfect. I love you. My mates.”

“My mates.” Tony whispered and squeezed Bucky's hand.

“I love you. “ Steve started to say. “My ma—!!!” his voice shot to a shriek and Bucky kissed him so he wouldn't laugh, just because the way Steve reacted was so perfect, and the little giggle Tony gave was so perfect, and everything about life with his feline mates was…  _purrrrfect_.

 

 


End file.
